GTUC, Advance HE sign agreement to improve teaching
The Ghana Technology University College (GTUC) has signed an agreement with Advance HE, an International Organisation in the United Kingdom, to streamline teaching in line with UK institutions.
A package of support aligned to GTUC’s ambitious plans aims at improving teaching and learning with the ultimate aim of equipping lecturers with cutting edge, progressive pedagogical knowledge and skills, a key pointer to the agreement.
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The agreement which was signed at the Napier House in London was initialled by Professor Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa, President of the GTUC, and Kristian Rumble, an International Partnership Manager of Advance HE.
It was witnessed by Dr Eric Osei Owusu-Kumih, the Director in charge of Koforidua GTUC campus, and Madam Kathy Wright, the Assistant Director in charge of Knowledge, Innovation and Delivery of Advance HE.
Merger
Advance HE was formed in the UK in March 2018 following the merger of Higher Education Academy (HEA), Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE) and Equality Challenge Unit (ECU).
The combined strengths offer a truly integrated and holistic approach to supporting institutions of higher learning.
UK standard
In the UK, Advance HE owns and manages the UK’s Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning in Higher Education (PSF) and Higher Education Academy (HEA) Fellowships (a qualification needed to teach in a university in the UK).
Their institutional memberships include all UK universities and over half of the universities in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Singapore and China.
With 29 academic staff as fellows of Higher Education Academy UK, GTUC therefore becomes the only university in West Africa to be admitted into access membership of Advance HE.
Afoakwa speaks
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic at the GTUC campus in Koforidua recently after signing the agreement in the United Kingdom (UK), Professor Afoakwa expressed his desire to position GTUC as the university of choice for prospective students and also for companies looking to recruit graduates across the West African sub-region and beyond.
He stated that the agreement was certainly the beginning of a long-term relationship between GTUC and Advance HE.
International visibility
According to the GTUC President, the partnership was a testament to GTUC’s goal to increase international visibility and also enhance faculty professional development.
“We will continue to brand the torch in the delivery of quality higher education in Ghana and the sub-regions of Africa; always remember that our university takes pride in being a place where students and faculty members can pursue knowledge without boundaries, a place where theory and practice combine to produce a better understanding of our world and ourselves,” Professor Afoakwa stated.
According to Professor Afoakwa, the government had embarked on a series of reforms, and in partnership with Ghana’s National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) released the new Tertiary Education Policy Reform to improve on the academic performance and governance of tertiary educational institutions.
Dr Rumble’s response
For his part, the International Partnership Manager for Advance HE, Mr Kristian Rumble, stated that working with Advance HE, GTUC had taken the government initiatives towards quality teaching and learning one step further.
He explained that they were working in partnership to effect positive systemic change and collaborating with an organisation with a unique position across the globe as the thought leader for higher education.
Mr Rumble said he looked forward to providing many other benefits membership brought to Ghana and explained that Advance HE would deliver teaching skills masterclass to programme leaders.
That, according to him, would be followed by a certificate in learning and teaching in Higher Education (CLTHE) programme open to staff across all five GTUC campuses.
According to the Advance HE Manager, the aim was to support lecturers to develop their teaching practice, emphasising a commitment to scholarly intent, with support for all lecturers to work towards achieving fellowship.