‘Ensure democratic forms of administration in colleges’
A senior lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Professor Cosmas Worlanyo Kofi Mereku, has asked administrators of colleges of education and other institutions of higher learning to adopt democratic and representative forms of administration to avoid upheavals being witnessed in some of those institutions.
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He said making transparency in decision-making a high priority was necessary to ensure that decision-making was connected to people at the local level, through structures such as class representative, committees, boards, local assembly and general assembly.
Prof. Mereku was speaking at the ninth graduation ceremony of the Ada College of Education in the Ada East District of the Greater Accra Region.
One hundred and fifty-six (156) newly trained teachers graduated with Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) after a three-year training. Out of the number, one had First Class, 30 had Second Class Upper, 62 had Second Class Lower, 59 had Third Class and four had Pass.
Nurturing students
Prof. Mereku noted that research had shown that by resorting to best practices at the various educational institutions, Student Representative Councils (SRCs) could be one of the catalysts that could bridge the gap between what management could provide or offer to better lives of students and what students demanded.
He said even though the management of ADACOE was trying its best with the governing of the college, it also behoved all the unions in the college, such as the SRC, Teachers Education Workers Union (TEWU), Federation of University Senior Staff Association of Ghana (FUSSAG) and the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), to strongly commit to that cause, if the present ADACOE strategic plan objectives would be achieved, sustained and improved upon.
Graduands
Prof. Mereku observed that literacy in the 21st century meant more than basic reading, writing, and training in computing skills, and added that literacy these days included financial, economic and business literacy, civic literacy, as well as global awareness.
He said education today should provide pupils with new forms of literacy and skills such as communication and collaborative skills, leadership, creative, critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovative, adding, “We need to develop these skills in our pupils now, if Ghana is to be a competitive player and not a spectator in this global village.”
In his report, the Principal of the college, Mr Cephas Kwasi Bodakpui, urged the continuing students to take their studies seriously, so as to maintain and even improve on standards attained by the college.
He said the college had established an exchange programme with the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, dubbed: ‘Ghana-Germany Academy’, and was expecting 16 students and two supervisors this year to participate in the programme, as the college was working hard for some students of ADACOE to visit Germany this year.
Advice
The Governing Council Chairman, Mr George Dugbatey Nanor, who chaired the function, advised the graduands to make judicious use of the contact honours, take instruction from their heads, lead exemplary lives for their pupils to emulate and be alert and not fall prey to immoral activities at their stations.
At the same function, the government, through the Ghana Education Service, presented a Nissan Navara double cabin pickup and a 33-seater bus to the college.
In separate remarks, Mr Nanor and Mr Bodakpui thanked the government for the gesture.