Catholic University College launches programme to unearth talents of SHS students

Sunyani, June 15, GNA – The Catholic University College of Ghana (CUCG) at Fipare, near Sunyani, has launched the 2015 edition of the High School Creative Challenge for Senior High Schools in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

The High School Creative Challenge is an event organized by the Innovation Laboratory, a research initiative at the CUCG, aimed at helping to discover and develop creative arts talents in students.

Mr. Edward Atwum Anane, the CUCG Coordinator for the programme told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Sunyani that the event created the platform for SHS students to showcase their talents in music, comedy, dance, fashion, drama and painting.

He explained that Innovation LAB, in collaboration with the Brong-Ahafo Regional Directorate of Education would implement the programme in eight SHSs in the Region, adding 24 students would be selected who would compete for awards and prizes in the final event scheduled for October this year.

The schools are Sunyani SHS, St James Seminary/SHS, Notre Damme Girls’ SHS, Scared Heart SHS, Bechem Presbyterian SHS, Boakye Tromo Technical/SHS, Ola Girls’ SHS and Dormaa SHS.

Mr. Anane appealed to businesses and all stakeholders, especially those in the education sector to support the programme to achieve set goals and target.


Source: GNA

Koforidua Polytechnic To Become University In 2016

The Koforidua Polytechnic is to be converted into a technical university by September 2016, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Deputy Minister in Charge of Tertiary Education has said.

He said the transformation is in line with the policy of Government to upgrade the polytechnics to promote technical education.

Mr Ablakwa said this on the floor of Parliament when contributing to an amendment in University of Environment and Sustainable Development Bills, 2014, which was being taken through the Consideration Stage.

His announcement was in response to concerns raise by Mr Dominic Bingab Nitiwul, Deputy Minority and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bimbilla, on why the main campuses on the proposed university are to be sited in Somanya, and the Afram Plains, both in the Eastern Region, rather in Koforidua, the regional capital.

To the Deputy Minority Leader, said it would have been better to locate the university in the regional capital, since there is not a public university there, but Mr Ablakwa said there is a polytechnic and a private university.

Furthermore, the Somanya and Afram Plains locations were recommended by a technical committee of experts headed by Professor George Benneh, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, he said.

Also, the siting of the university in the two locations would ensure equity whilst satellite universities could be located anywhere in the region and elsewhere across the country.

Reacting to the position of Mr Nitiwul that all public universities began in the regional capitals before the satellites ones where established, Mr Ablakwa, who also the MP for North Tongu in the Volta Region, said the University of Mines was located at Tarkwa, a district capital of the Western Region rather than the capital Takoradi.

Also, the University of Education has its main campus at Winneba, rather than Cape Coast, the Central Regional capital, with satellite campuses across the nation.

Papa Owusu Ankoma, MP for Sekondi and former Minister of Education under the Minority government of the New Patriotic Party, drew the attention of the House that it would have been better not to mention the locations in the bill.

He said since it is the policy of Government to establish a university in each of the 10 regions, the sites could have been left out in the bill, for a general consensus to be reached on the location before it goes into the statute books.


Source: GNA

University Of Cape Coast Admits 5,354 Students

The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has admitted a total number of 5,354 students to pursue both undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in various disciplines through the sandwich mode.

The figure comprises 2,881 post-graduate students and 2,273 undergraduate students with a gender statistics as 2,908 males and 2,446 females.

Professor D.D. Kuupole, Vice Chancellor of UCC, gave the figure at a matriculation ceremony on Friday for fresh students admitted into the University for the sandwich period.

He explained that the university had kept faith with its mission of responding to the changing needs of society and also continues to provide access to higher education through the sandwich mode.

He indicated that the programme was tailored towards workers whose work schedules or whose domestic responsibilities would not permit them to enrol during the regular session to pursue programmes of their choice.

“It is also to make the University maximise fully the very little essential facilities at her disposal and to make sure that those who enrol on the programme retain their positions at their work places while pursuing further studies,” he said.

He stated the University’s commitment not to compromise on quality and urged the students to devote some quality time for their studies.

Prof Kuupole further said that the University had adequate facilities that would enable them to go through their programmes of study successfully.

On security, he said the security situation on campus was relatively safe for academic work, saying, “The campus security and the police frequently conduct patrols on campus and in the surrounding communities in order to ward off any people with bad intentions”.

Security devices such as CCTV cameras, he said, had been placed at some vantage points of the University to monitor and check the activities of such people.

He, however, urged the students to be security conscious about their movements on campus and also devote time for their studies.

Source: Ghanaian Times

UCC Certificates Not For Sale

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Prof D.D Kuupole, says the university’s certificates are not for sale.

He has, therefore, warned unscrupulous persons colluding to forge UCC certificates for sale to unemployed persons to desist from the practice and advised employers both locally and abroad to do due diligence to seek the authenticity of these certificates before employing prospective applicants.

Prof. Kuupole was speaking at the sixth session of the 47th congregation of the Institute of Education and College of Distance Education (CODE) of the university, over the weekend.

It was a three-day session during which 10,080 graduates comprising 2,372 from the Institute of Education Studies and 7,708 from the CODE graduated.

He explained that the high demand for UCC graduates had caused some unscrupulous persons to continuously forge the certificates for prospective applicants seeking employment.

He said the university was also working to ensure the sanctity of its certificates, pointing out that, “The issue is a problem both in the country and abroad”.

He said it was obvious that there had been a significant increase in the number of students who successfully completed their programme of study.

Prof. Kuupole said the drop-out rate of students of the CODE had also gone down considerably while the general academic performance had improved considerably.

Distance Education

Prof. Kuupole said distance education had helped to increase, significantly, access to higher education.

He, however, advised beneficiaries of the distance education programme to help change the fortunes of particularly, the education sector, and all other sectors in the country where they found themselves, and not only use their certificates to secure higher salaries.

He stated that higher education for teachers in particular, must reflect in a remarkably improved performance in the nation’s educational standards, pointing out that in pursuit of integrating Information, Communications Technology (ICT) in distance learning in the university, the CODE had completed an e-learning platform for use for teaching and learning.

With the full activation of the platform, he said, students could hopefully register, pay fees and access their academic records online.

However, he said, there still remained the poor ICT infrastructure at the regional centres, pointing out that those challenges were being adequately addressed.

CODE Expansion

On expansion programmes, he stated that UCC through the CODE opened 12 new centres across the country.

He said the sod had also been cut for the construction of two three-storey learning centres in Wa in the Upper West Regionand Zuarungu in the Upper East Region this year.

He advised the graduands to work hard and be honest in all they do to impact positively on the lives of the people in their communities.

Sir Sam Jonah

In his address, Sir Sam Jonah, Chancellor of the university, noted that distance education was a sure way to acquire higher education and advised the graduands to make the best of the education they had acquired.

At an earlier session, the Minister of Education, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, in a speech read on her behalf, commended UCC for its efforts at digitise its teaching and learning.

Nana Sam Brew Butler, Chairman of the Governing Council of the university also urged the graduates to give back to help develop the university.


Source: Daily Graphic

UDS, Jayee University College and Datalink Institute Sanctioned

The National Accreditation Board (NAB) has sanctioned Jayee University College and Datalink Institute, both private-owned, to cease enrolment in all their programmes for the 2015/16 academic year.

The University of Development Studies, a government-owned tertiary institution, was also directed to cease fresh admissions to its Bachelor of Education in Health Science programme for 2015/16.

Information available to the B&FT indicates that Datalink Institute was directed to cease fresh admissions due to overcrowding and poor physical facilities, while Jayee University College was also sanctioned due to a myriad of issues and deficiencies identified by auditors.

The University of Education, Winneba -- the mentoring institution, is expected to provide close supervision of the students already enrolled in Jayee University College's programme until they graduate. This, according to NAD, is to ensure the students do not lose out on quality delivery.

Jayee University College has a student population of close to 1,000, and was affiliated to the University of Education, Winneba, in 2004.

The Institute was accredited by the National Accreditation Board to run a 3-year Advanced Diploma in Journalism (with options in Sports Reporting, Political Reporting, Environmental Reporting, and Economic Reporting) and Business Administration (with options in Accounting, Secretaryship and Management, Public Relations and Marketing)

In 2008, the National Accreditation Board re-accredited Jayee to run 4-year degree programmes.

The NAB has in recent times been sanctioning tertiary institutions that are underperforming and lack the accreditation to deliver quality education. The Board recently cited Ghana Institute of Languages, Legon, and Ghana School of Survey and Mapping, Accra, as being among 49 unaccredited institutions operating in the country.

The majority of unapproved tertiary schools are in the Greater Accra Region with 32, followed by the Ashanti Region with eight, and Brong-Ahafo, Western and Central Regions having three each. The Northern and Volta Regions each have one identified unaccredited institution, with none in the Eastern, Upper West and East Regions.

Employers complain about the quality of graduates at all levels of education, with some decidedly giving preference to Ghanaians who have schooled abroad. The price of the crisis in education will be a major constraint on the country’s ability to accelerate economic development.

The major issue confronting the tertiary education sector in the country is the ‘unemployability’ of its products.

"We have a paradox of insufficient intake space (that is the proportion of the age 18-24 group at the tertiary level) co-existing with graduate unemployment. Of course, this graduate unemployment situation is partly because the economy is not generating enough jobs, and only partly because of the quality of education being offered in terms of employable skills -- such as analytical and critical reasoning, communication skills, ICT competencies, work ethic and entrepreneurship," the IMANI Forum of Education said in its recent statement on the State of Education in Ghana.


Source: B&FT

UCC completes e-learning platform

The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has completed an e-learning platform for the College of Distance Education (CoDE), as part of efforts to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in distance learning.

With the full activation of the platform, it is expected that student registration, payment of fees, academic records and detailed results, will be easily accessible online to students of the distance programme of the university.

Prof. Domwini D. Kuupole, Vice Chancellor of UCC, announced this at the sixth session of the 47th Congregation of UCC held on Thursday, to graduate 4,008 students who completed various programmes of study at the Institute of Education and CoDE for the 2013/14 academic year.

The students were awarded Degrees and Diplomas in Basic Education, Psychology, and Foundational Studies.

Prof. Kuupole noted that the UCC was in talks with regional directors of education and other stakeholders, to smoothly integrate the graduates into the sector, and other deficient sectors, in efforts to make the distance education programme more relevant in the educational sector.

He, therefore, charged the graduands to be committed, and work hard to contribute their quota to the improvement of the educational sector.

Nana Brew Butler, Chairman of the UCC Council, advised the graduands not to be content with the Degrees and Diplomas awarded them, but rather climb higher the academic ladder.

In his valedictory address, the overall best graduand, Mr. Bernard Gyimah Antwi, admonished his colleagues to exhibit a high sense of excellence and quality in all their endeavours.

Source: GNA

Polytechnic Rectors want govt to lift embargo on employment

The Conference of Rectors of Polytechnics (CORP) has appealed to the government to lift a three-year embargo on recruitment of staff for the ten polytechnics in Ghana.

CORP said the refusal of the government to grant polytechnics financial clearance to replace staff who have retired, resigned or deceased, is adversely affecting the quality of teaching and learning on their campuses.

This was contained in a communiqué, signed by Professor Nicholas Nsowah-Nuamah, Rector of Kumasi Polytechnic and the President of CORP, issued at the end of a three-day meeting in Kumasi.

The Rectors have urged the government to give polytechnics the necessary clearance to recruit, stating that it will go a long way to enhance teaching and learning in the polytechnics.

“Since 2013, the Polytechnics have tried unsuccessfully to secure financial clearance to replace separated staff – that is staff who have retired, resigned or deceased. This is adversely affecting the quality of teaching and learning,” the statement said.

The Rectors further called on the government to reduce the cumbersome and frustrating processes involved in securing financial clearance, adding that, “unless appropriate measures are taken, the future of polytechnic education in the country will be greatly compromised.”

On the payment of utility bills by students in tertiary institutions, the communiqué referred to a press release by Deputy Minister of Education, Alex Kyeremeh, on the 7th May, 2015, which stated among other things that, “Government has not taken the decision for students in tertiary institutions to pay utility bills next academic year and that Cabinet has also issued a new directive that all educational and health institutions be exempted from the disconnection exercise currently on-going in some tertiary institutions in view of the critical services they provide the citizenry.”

The Rectors urged the government to implement these decisions as the rampant disconnection of utilities was hampering effective teaching and learning as well as the socio-economic activities of the polytechnics.

The communiqué also supported the decision to upgrade Polytechnics into Technical Universities but urged the government to stick to its timelines of conversion which is September 2016.

“CORP believes the decision has come at a time that Ghana needs higher quality technical human resource in the areas of manufacturing, engineering and commerce. The Technical University status will fulfil this critical need for the overall growth of the country,” the statement noted.

The Rectors also bemoaned the low enrolment of students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by students in the Polytechnics.

It said, “CORP notices with worry the low enrolment of STEM by students in the Polytechnics,” and attributed the situation to low enrolment in these areas in second cycle institutions.

According to CORP, this is reflected in the annual statistics released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and called for a national discussion on the issue so as to ensure that Ghana is globally competitive in STEM, going forward.


Source: Ghana | Luv News | Kofi Adu Domfeh

UCC builds satellite campus in Upper East

Zuarungu (UE), May 15, GNA - The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has initiated a building project in the Upper East Region to serve as one of its satellite campuses.

The three-storey multipurpose building project located at Zuarungu near the Bolgatanga Municipality, when completed next year, would have lecture halls for both undergraduate and post-graduate students, with facilities such ICT, furnished library, Laboratories, toilet facilities, and lift, among others.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony at Zuarungu, the Vice Chancellor of the University. Professor D.D. Kuupole, said the project was being funded from the University's Internally Generated Funds.

He said it was part of the University’s efforts at complementing governments to provide accessible, quality tertiary education, and expressed the hope that it would break the cycle of poverty and help accelerate the area's development.

The Vice Chancellor stated that one of the reasons that informed the University to establish the campus was not only to make education accessible to the people alone, to cut down the hectic time students went through by traveling for long distances in search of tertiary education which of often resulted in some losing their lives through accidents.

He commended the chiefs and people of Zuarungu for releasing such a vast land for the project, and Professor Emmanuel Abole, a lecturer of the University who is an indigene, for playing an instrumental role in the establishment of the project.

The Provost in charge of the College of Distance Education, Professor George Oduro, who kicked against the idea of Government winning Tertiary institutions from its subvention, stated that the decision was not necessary since most of the tertiary educational institutions were already doing a lot, and cited the number of Satellite Campuses the University had built, as examples.

The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Daniel Syme, was full of praise to the Management of the University, and said it would play a major role in reducing poverty among people in the area, as well as bring a lot of development to the region.

The Deputy Minister entreated students from the region to take advantage of the facility, and said it would also help attract students from neighbouring countries, like Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Niger and Mali, which was closer to the Region.

The chiefs and people of Zuarungu expressed happiness about the project, and pledged to co-operate with the contractor to complete the project on time.

They announced that they had secured and mapped another area that could be used for a similar purpose, and invited other tertiary institutions which would want to widen their scope into the region, not to hesitate to contact them.


Source: Ghana News Agency

Kessben University College - 2015/2016 Admissions

Application closes: 30th June, 2015

APPLICATION FORMS ARE CURRENTLY FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

The following undergraduate regular and weekend programmes are currently being offered:

1. BSc Business Administration with options in:
Accounting
Banking and Finance
Human Resource Management
Marketing

2. BSc Mathematics

3. BSc Information and Communication Technology

4. BA English Studies


ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

1. WASSCE/SSSCE Holders who have credits (A1-C6/ A-D Respectively) in the following Three (3) Core Subjects: English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science plus credits (A1-C6) in Three Elective Subjects with an Aggregate Score of 24 or better in the relevant Area of Study.

OR

GENERAL BUSINESS CERTIFICATE (GBCE) Holders who possess passes in Three compulsory Subjects including English Language and passes in any Three Elective Subjects including Business Mathematics.


2. ADVANCED LEVEL Holders with credits in at least Five (5) subjects at the GCE ‘O’ Level (or its equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics, plus at least two passes in the relevant subjects at the Advanced Level obtained not more than Three (3) years ago.

OR

ADVANCED BUSINESS CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION (ABCE) Holders with passes in Three compulsory Subjects plusThree optional subjects relevant to the programme of study, OR Applicants with Stage I of ACCA, ICA, Associate of Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB), Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) with credits at WASSCE/SSSCE in Three (3) Core Subjects and Three (3) Elective Subjects or credits at GBCE or ABCE or GCE O’ Level including English Language and Mathematics.

3. MATURE STUDENTS who have attained the age of 25 years or above at the time of application and have credits in Five (5) GCE ‘O Level subjects including English Language and Mathematics, in addition to passing an Entrance Examination and /or Interview.

OR

WASSCE/SSSCE Holders who have credits (A1-C6/ A-D Respectively) in the following Three (3) Core Subjects: English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science plus credits (A1-C6/A-D) in Three Elective Subjects with an aggregate score of 24 or better in the relevant area of study.

OR

HND Holders with Three (3) years relevant working experience in addition to the Minimum Entry Requirement at WASSCE/SSSCE or Five (5) GCE O’ Level credits including English Language and Mathematics.

4. FOREIGN APPLICANTS and all others who have any of the above qualifications or their equivalent from an accredited/recognised institution.

HOW TO APPLY

Application forms for admission may be obtained at the following places:
Kessben University College Campus at Kuntenase (Lake Bosomtwi Road), Kumasi (Ashanti Region)

Front desk of Kessben FM, 3rd floor, Aseda House, Adum – Kumasi
Any Multi Credit Savings and Loans branch around the country


Application forms can also be downloaded from our website www.kc.edu.gh


A set of application forms costs GHȻ80.00 for Ghanaian applicants and US Dollars $100.00 for foreign applicants. Payment is by either cash or banker’s draft payable to Kessben University College. (FORMS ARE CURRENTLY FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY)


Completed application forms together with certified copies of certificates/result slips may be submitted to the Registrar on campus or to any of the sales points listed above.

All completed forms should be submitted no later than June 30, 2015.

Application forms that are not properly completed shall not be processed/ considered.

The University of Ghana holds three simultaneous matriculation at Distance Education (DE) Learning Centres.

Accra, April 27, GNA – The University of Ghana (UG) for the first time, has held three simultaneous matriculation at its Accra City Campus, Kumasi, and Tamale Distance Education (DE) Learning Centres.

Matriculants at the Accra City Campus were drawn from Accra, Cape Coast, Tsito, Koforidua and Takoradi Learning Centres, while that of the Kumasi and Sunyani centres took place in Kumasi; whereas the Tamale centre hosted students from Tamale, Bolgatanga and Wa centres.

Addressing the matriculants at the Accra City Campus, Professor Ernest Ayittey, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of UG, said, for the first time, matriculation ceremonies were being held concurrently in three regional learning centres, as part of the long-term goal to transform the regional centres into satellite campuses of the University.

He said there had being a number of changes in the DE mode of the University starting from  the 2014/2015 academic year which aimed at improving on delivery and making the distance learning mode more attractive to students.

The VC mentioned that one of such changes was the restructuring and expansion of the programmes on offer.

Prof Ayittey announced that programmes being offered had been expanded to include Nursing and Information Technology.

He said the Nursing programme, run in conjunction with the School of Nursing, had proven to be particularly popular in most regional centres.

He disclosed that a total of 653 applications were received this academic year for Nursing, out of which 513 were admitted and 450 enrolled, representing 38 per cent of the total number of enrolled DE students.

The VC said the Bachelor of Science in Administration and Bachelor of Arts programmes remained popular choices for their DE students, with 346 and 367 students respectively accepting offers this academic year.

He pointed out that there were 21 students enrolled in their newly-introduced Bachelor of Science programme in Information Technology, which for this academic year was being offered at the Accra City Campus.

On the general enrolment, the VC observed that figures for the 2014/2015 academic year were up from last year’s figure of 775 to 1184, representing a 52 per cent increase.

“We are working hard as a University to not only to increase the numbers of our students in the Distance Learning mode, but also to improve the facilities and learning experiences that our students have,” Prof Ayittey stated.

“Starting from this year, DE students were admitted to their regional centres, and with the improvement of facilities in the centres, the students will have all tutorials and examinations in their centres, without having to come down to Legon, as has been the practice over the years,” he added.

He said the collegiate system which was implemented at the beginning of this academic year would provide more room for innovations at the school and college levels, and the semi-autonomous nature of the colleges would enable them take more decisions on their academic programmes and administration.

Prof Ayittey recounted that the University recently inaugurated a $ 37.5 million Information Communication Technology (ICT) project for its DE programme under the Chinese Phase Two ICT Project.

He said the project, funded with a Chinese Government loan procured by the Ghana Government on behalf of UG, had deployed an integrated Digital Mobile Learning platform for DE.

“This is part of a larger set of activities reflecting the strong desire of UG to use ICT as a major strategy in achieving its future goals,” Prof Ayittey said.

The VC said as part of the project, the Accra, Koforidua, Sunyani, Takoradi, Tsito and Wa Centres had been equipped with modern facilities; with each centre provided with ultra-modern computer labs, smart classrooms, a video conference facility, backup generators and outdoor Wi-Fi.

He noted that in addition, as part of the project; 3000 internet enabled android tablets had been acquired; pre-loaded with the relevant teaching and learning materials, and distributed to newly admitted students.

Prof Ayittey said the DE programme was therefore, in the process of moving away from paper-based teaching materials to Sakai, an eLearning platform, which has enhanced teaching and learning.

“Also as part of the plan to grow regional learning centres into campuses of the University, work has started on the rehabilitation and refurbishment of the regional learning centres,” the VC said.

Prof Ayittey further urged the students to take their studies seriously and determine to be part of the 2017 and 2018 graduating classes for those admitted to level 200 and 100 respectively.

Source: Ghana News Agency