About 45,000 extra teachers are needed to provide universal basic education in the country, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Professor Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, has said.
He was addressing the first annual Easter Forum on the theme: “Distance Education: Our hope for sustainable human capacity development in Ghana”, at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) yesterday.
Currently, he said, there were 260,000 basic school teachers, half of which were untrained.
Statistics show that most untrained teachers are found at the kindergarten and the primary levels, where 72.4 per cent of the 42,128 teachers have no training.
At the primary level, this falls to 50.5 per cent of 126,596 teachers, and drops again to 37 per cent of the 90,687 teachers at the junior high school level.
Prof Anamuah-Mensah said basic education in the country faced a serious problem, with about 800,000 children of school age currently out of school.
Tertiary education
At the tertiary level of education, he said, traditional approaches to learning were inadequate to overcome the challenge and, therefore, advocated distance education as a panacea to propel access to education.
“The key to rectifying the teacher shortfall in Ghana, though, is not through conventional teacher training but rather the rise of distance education, which has and will continue to be critical because the demand for teachers is so huge,” he said.
Lack of co-ordination
Prof Anamuah-Mensah, however, bemoaned the un-coordinated nature of distance education in the country, noting that more than 10 years after distance education was introduced, it was yet to be properly co-ordinated.
The Vice-Chancellor of the UCC, Prof. D.D. Kuupole, stressed the urgent need for collaboration among tertiary institutions to provide quality education, adding, “We need to have a guiding principle on where we are going.”
“So many of us have been left out; we need to strategise and bring everybody on board,” he stressed.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Major Albert Don-Chebe (retd), said only about 68,000 people procured university degrees in Ghana a year, saying that was woefully inadequate for human resource development in the country.
He pledged the corporation’s commitment to partner the UCC to provide quality education for Ghanaians.
Source: Timothy Gobah, graphic.com.gh
Friday, May 1, 2015
Restructure educational sector – Elise Sanders
The Director of the Webster University Ghana, Ms Christa Elise Sanders, has underscored the need for the restructure of the country’s educational sector in order to improve the quality of students for the job market.
She said that could be done only when the students were equipped with the basic resources such as quality tuition, infrastructure, and a free environment to learn, among others, with the aim of empowering them to match their western counterparts.
Ms Sanders, who was speaking at the TEDx Accra Summit during a panel discussion, indicated that access to quality education would be one of the major factors which would drive the development of the country in the future.
Skills-oriented students
“Improving educational systems on the local front would be in the national interest to help prepare students practically for the job market,” she said.
According to her, there was the need to strengthen the critical areas of the country’s educational systems in order to trigger skills-oriented students who could bring about practical change in the society.
“Students need to be given a solid, holistic education in order to help them to be innovative rather than reproduce the same thing taught in class,” she said.
She said access to basic education must be a fundamental right to citizens in the country and used the opportunity to laud the government for its effort at making education free and compulsory.
She said that could be done only when the students were equipped with the basic resources such as quality tuition, infrastructure, and a free environment to learn, among others, with the aim of empowering them to match their western counterparts.
Ms Sanders, who was speaking at the TEDx Accra Summit during a panel discussion, indicated that access to quality education would be one of the major factors which would drive the development of the country in the future.
Skills-oriented students
“Improving educational systems on the local front would be in the national interest to help prepare students practically for the job market,” she said.
According to her, there was the need to strengthen the critical areas of the country’s educational systems in order to trigger skills-oriented students who could bring about practical change in the society.
“Students need to be given a solid, holistic education in order to help them to be innovative rather than reproduce the same thing taught in class,” she said.
She said access to basic education must be a fundamental right to citizens in the country and used the opportunity to laud the government for its effort at making education free and compulsory.
Needed support
Ms Sanders, however, indicated that making basic education compulsory would not be enough to satisfy quality but rather there should be access to library facilities, building of more schools, training and hiring of quality teachers, among others, with the aim of building the capacity of students for the near future.
“Looking at the various sectors that need support, it is virtually impossible for the government to effectively provide the necessary support for the educational sector in the short term. It is, therefore, important for the private sector to provide some of the core support needed for the educational sector in order to produce quality at the end of the day,” she said.
Source: Maclean Kwofi, graphic.com.gh
Ms Sanders, however, indicated that making basic education compulsory would not be enough to satisfy quality but rather there should be access to library facilities, building of more schools, training and hiring of quality teachers, among others, with the aim of building the capacity of students for the near future.
“Looking at the various sectors that need support, it is virtually impossible for the government to effectively provide the necessary support for the educational sector in the short term. It is, therefore, important for the private sector to provide some of the core support needed for the educational sector in order to produce quality at the end of the day,” she said.
Source: Maclean Kwofi, graphic.com.gh
Professor Emeritus J. H. Kwabena Nketia entrusts works to AUCC
Professor Emeritus J. H. Kwabena Nketia, the Ghanaian world-renowned scholar and erudite musicologist, has entrusted his publications, musical compositions and works to the Africana Studies Centre of the African University College of Communications (AUCC).
In response and as a mark of honour, AUCC has scheduled June 22, 2015, the 94th birthday of the internationally acclaimed scholar, to rename its Africana Studies Centre, the Kwabena Nketia Centre for Africana Studies, at a ceremony which will be chaired by the Asante Mamponghene, Nana Osei Bonsu II.
Historic event
Commenting on the event, Professor Kofi Asare Opoku of AUCC said: “This is a monumental contribution to what the university has been doing since it was founded. This unparalleled gesture of generosity will enable the enormous influence of Professor Nketia’s scholarship to spread across the globe from AUCC’s Centre.”
The events marking this honour will be preceded by a public lecture on June 16, 2015 at the National Theatre, to be delivered by Professor Molefi Kete Asante, an eminent scholar and author of over 70 books, and Professor of Africology and Africana Studies at the Department of African American Studies at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. It will be chaired by Nana Kobina Nketsia V, the Omanhen of Essikado Traditional Area.
Africana Studies is a core subject for all students at the African University College of Communications.
As an acclaimed musicologist and composer, Professor Nketia has over 80 compositions, including choral pieces, solo songs with piano accompaniment, as well as instrumental works. He has over 200 publications, not only in English but also in his local language Twi.
Current positions
Currently, Professor Nketia is the Chancellor of the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, Akropong Akuapem; a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and honorary fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
He is also an Honorary Member of the International Music Council; a member of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)’s International Commission for a Scientific and Cultural History of Humanity; a member of the International Jury for the Proclamation by UNESCO of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and a board member of the National Commission on Culture, of Ghana.
Source: Daily Graphic
In response and as a mark of honour, AUCC has scheduled June 22, 2015, the 94th birthday of the internationally acclaimed scholar, to rename its Africana Studies Centre, the Kwabena Nketia Centre for Africana Studies, at a ceremony which will be chaired by the Asante Mamponghene, Nana Osei Bonsu II.
Historic event
Commenting on the event, Professor Kofi Asare Opoku of AUCC said: “This is a monumental contribution to what the university has been doing since it was founded. This unparalleled gesture of generosity will enable the enormous influence of Professor Nketia’s scholarship to spread across the globe from AUCC’s Centre.”
The events marking this honour will be preceded by a public lecture on June 16, 2015 at the National Theatre, to be delivered by Professor Molefi Kete Asante, an eminent scholar and author of over 70 books, and Professor of Africology and Africana Studies at the Department of African American Studies at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. It will be chaired by Nana Kobina Nketsia V, the Omanhen of Essikado Traditional Area.
Africana Studies is a core subject for all students at the African University College of Communications.
As an acclaimed musicologist and composer, Professor Nketia has over 80 compositions, including choral pieces, solo songs with piano accompaniment, as well as instrumental works. He has over 200 publications, not only in English but also in his local language Twi.
Current positions
Currently, Professor Nketia is the Chancellor of the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, Akropong Akuapem; a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and honorary fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
He is also an Honorary Member of the International Music Council; a member of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)’s International Commission for a Scientific and Cultural History of Humanity; a member of the International Jury for the Proclamation by UNESCO of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and a board member of the National Commission on Culture, of Ghana.
Source: Daily Graphic
Kumasi Polytechnic gets mechatronics laboratory
A laboratory (mechatronics laboratory) to train engineering students of the Kumasi Polytechnic, especially in computer and solar energy, has been completed at a cost of $3 million.
Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering that includes mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, control and computer engineering.
Already, the Kumasi Polytechnic has established a centre for renewable energy and energy efficiency towards ensuring that the school becomes self-sufficient in the provision of its own electricity.
The Rector of the Kumasi Polytechnic, Professor Nicholas N.N. Nsowah-Nuamah, made this known to the Daily Graphic during a workshop on the transformation of the polytechnics into technical universities last Tuesday in Kumasi.
He said while the laboratory would be used to impart knowledge about solar energy to the students, the Centre for Renewable Energy of the school would be charged with the responsibility for providing solar and manure energy for the school’s new campus at Kutunase.
Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah said feasibility studies on the provision of adequate and potable water from yet-to-be-drilled wells on the school’s campuses were also ongoing.
Kumasi Polytechnic was in the news recently for owing water and electricity bills. It owed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) GH¢3 million and the Ghana Water Company GH¢456,777.
Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah said the school did not want to be saddled with the payment of electricity and water bills, when it had the capacity and capability to generate its own power and water and sell surpluses to the utility providers.
Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering that includes mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, control and computer engineering.
Already, the Kumasi Polytechnic has established a centre for renewable energy and energy efficiency towards ensuring that the school becomes self-sufficient in the provision of its own electricity.
The Rector of the Kumasi Polytechnic, Professor Nicholas N.N. Nsowah-Nuamah, made this known to the Daily Graphic during a workshop on the transformation of the polytechnics into technical universities last Tuesday in Kumasi.
He said while the laboratory would be used to impart knowledge about solar energy to the students, the Centre for Renewable Energy of the school would be charged with the responsibility for providing solar and manure energy for the school’s new campus at Kutunase.
Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah said feasibility studies on the provision of adequate and potable water from yet-to-be-drilled wells on the school’s campuses were also ongoing.
Kumasi Polytechnic was in the news recently for owing water and electricity bills. It owed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) GH¢3 million and the Ghana Water Company GH¢456,777.
Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah said the school did not want to be saddled with the payment of electricity and water bills, when it had the capacity and capability to generate its own power and water and sell surpluses to the utility providers.
Upgrade
On the polytechnic’s preparations towards becoming a technical university, Professor Nsowah-Nuamah said the school was almost ready, both in terms of infrastructure and human resource.
On human resource, he explained that currently the Kumasi Polytechnic could boast 30 doctorate degree holders and more than 60 senior lecturers, 30 of whom had submitted their works to be promoted.
That, he further explained, meant that by next year, the Kumasi Polytechnic would be having 100 professors at the proposed technical university.
On the polytechnic’s preparations towards becoming a technical university, Professor Nsowah-Nuamah said the school was almost ready, both in terms of infrastructure and human resource.
On human resource, he explained that currently the Kumasi Polytechnic could boast 30 doctorate degree holders and more than 60 senior lecturers, 30 of whom had submitted their works to be promoted.
That, he further explained, meant that by next year, the Kumasi Polytechnic would be having 100 professors at the proposed technical university.
Technical universities
Prof. Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, a former Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), who gave a briefing on the status and workings of technical universities, said they were structured to have strong links with industry and business and offered programmes that were vocationally oriented and career focused.
He said the technical universities would also support existing and emerging productive sectors of the economy with technical expertise, adding that technical universities also placed emphasis on innovation and applications of new technologies.
Prof. Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, a former Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), who gave a briefing on the status and workings of technical universities, said they were structured to have strong links with industry and business and offered programmes that were vocationally oriented and career focused.
He said the technical universities would also support existing and emerging productive sectors of the economy with technical expertise, adding that technical universities also placed emphasis on innovation and applications of new technologies.
- By Donald Ato Dapatem, graphic.com.gh
Tertiary education should not be elitist - Professor Josephus Anamuah-Mensah
Cape Coast, April 30, GNA - Professor Josephus Anamuah-Mensah, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, says the efforts to raise Ghana unto a higher middle income status would be unrealistic if access to tertiary education remains elitist.
He said currently access to tertiary education as measured by the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is 12 per cent which means that a large number of talents lie dormant and uncultivated to contribute to the country’s prosperity.
He said there is the need to increase the existing percentage to about 30 per cent to be able to move the nation beyond the lower middle-income status.
“There is a higher education demand surge but many Ghanaians are deprived of tertiary education, only 12 per cent of post-secondary school graduates get access to the university. We are struggling to move beyond the lower middle-income but the figure is too low for a higher middle-income status,” he said.
Prof Anamuah-Mensah said this when he delivered the keynote address at the maiden annual Easter forum organised by the College of Distance Education (CoDE) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
The forum, which was on the theme: “Distance education: Our hope for a sustained human capacity development in Ghana,” was aimed at addressing the issues concerning distance education.
He said the role of higher education especially for African countries cannot be taken lightly and urged Ghanaians not to view tertiary education as something for the elites alone.
Distance education is the best alternative to addressing the problem of limited access to tertiary education as it offers the working populace the opportunity to improve upon their knowledge in the work place, Prof Anamuah-Mensah said.
He said with 49.3 per cent of the total number of teachers at the basic school level being untrained, distance education would obviously be the recommended option for them if they want to go to school while they remain in the classrooms.
The former Vice-Chancellor urged the organisers of distance education programmes to put in place employable skills courses that are work-based and expand its scope to introduce technical and vocational programmes.
Professor D. D Kuupole, Vice Chancellor of UCC, said distance education since its inception in 1994, has become embedded in the country’s educational sector and called on all to embrace it.
He said distance education makes higher education flexible and offer a larger number of people the opportunity to enrol in any programme.
He said the discussions, sharing of ideas and innovations that may come up during the forum would go a long way to make advancement in the distance learning programs.
Heads of training colleges, education administrators, teachers, university dons and the Director of CoDE, Prof, George Oduro were present at the one-day forum.
Source: Ghana News Agency
He said currently access to tertiary education as measured by the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is 12 per cent which means that a large number of talents lie dormant and uncultivated to contribute to the country’s prosperity.
He said there is the need to increase the existing percentage to about 30 per cent to be able to move the nation beyond the lower middle-income status.
“There is a higher education demand surge but many Ghanaians are deprived of tertiary education, only 12 per cent of post-secondary school graduates get access to the university. We are struggling to move beyond the lower middle-income but the figure is too low for a higher middle-income status,” he said.
Prof Anamuah-Mensah said this when he delivered the keynote address at the maiden annual Easter forum organised by the College of Distance Education (CoDE) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
The forum, which was on the theme: “Distance education: Our hope for a sustained human capacity development in Ghana,” was aimed at addressing the issues concerning distance education.
He said the role of higher education especially for African countries cannot be taken lightly and urged Ghanaians not to view tertiary education as something for the elites alone.
Distance education is the best alternative to addressing the problem of limited access to tertiary education as it offers the working populace the opportunity to improve upon their knowledge in the work place, Prof Anamuah-Mensah said.
He said with 49.3 per cent of the total number of teachers at the basic school level being untrained, distance education would obviously be the recommended option for them if they want to go to school while they remain in the classrooms.
The former Vice-Chancellor urged the organisers of distance education programmes to put in place employable skills courses that are work-based and expand its scope to introduce technical and vocational programmes.
Professor D. D Kuupole, Vice Chancellor of UCC, said distance education since its inception in 1994, has become embedded in the country’s educational sector and called on all to embrace it.
He said distance education makes higher education flexible and offer a larger number of people the opportunity to enrol in any programme.
He said the discussions, sharing of ideas and innovations that may come up during the forum would go a long way to make advancement in the distance learning programs.
Heads of training colleges, education administrators, teachers, university dons and the Director of CoDE, Prof, George Oduro were present at the one-day forum.
Source: Ghana News Agency
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