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 intensifies security on campus

The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has installed Closed Circuit Television cameras at vantage points on campus to monitor and check criminal activities as part of measures to ensure maximum security. 

Professor Domwini D. Kuupole, Vice Chancellor who made this known at the weekend said security on campus is relatively safe for academic work, but the open-door nature of the academic facility leads to security breaches. 

“There have been instances where people’s mobile phones, laptops and handbags have been snatched from them by criminal elements who mingle with students,” he stated.

 Prof Kuupole was speaking at a matriculation ceremony to formally admit a total of 5,354 fresh students to pursue various undergraduate and post-graduate Sandwich Programmes for the 2015/2016 academic year in Cape Coast.

 In addition, the campus security and the police would continue to conduct patrols to ward off any person with bad intentions, the Vice Chancellor said.

He advised students to observe personal safety precautions. 

“Be extra careful and alert to these miscreants who may willingly offer their unsolicited services”, he said. 

The matriculants comprised 2,881 post graduate students and 2,473 undergraduate students who would pursue programmes at the College of Education Studies, College of Human and Legal Studies, College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences and Colleges of Health and Allied Sciences. 

Of the number, 2,908 representing 54.3 per cent are males as against 2,446 females representing 45.7 per cent.

Prof Kuupole said the university is committed to its core values and advised the students to strictly adhere to rules and regulations in the students’ Handbook, and pay attention to academic work.

Source: GNA

Private universities call for equity

Accra, June 6, GNA – Heads of Private Universities have called on the government and state institutions to accord private universities due recognition in the community of educational institutions in the country.

Professor Kwesi Yankah, Chairman, Council of Independent Universities (CIU), who made the call said no private university has secured Presidential Charter within the past 13 years even though they strongly contribute to national development by raising prominent persons.

“For the past 13 years no single institution affiliated to a public university has been considered worthy of autonomy, this is clear signal that all is not well in the processes towards attainment of charter,” he said at a public forum to celebrate the ninth anniversary of CIU.

Speaking on the theme, “Private Universities as Partners in National Development”, Prof Yankah, said: “How can we help you get a charter, appears now to be ringtone of the National Accreditation Board (NAB).

“Rather than how can we prolong your walk to freedom, which had been the perception of member institutions of CIU.”

Prof Yankah said it is the hope of the Council that the inclusion of a Private University Representation within National Commission on Tertiary Education Governing Board, would promote greater co-operation between private and public universities.

It would also foster the recognition of private and public universities as equal partners within the tertiary educational sector.

He pointed out that although the University of Health and Allied Sciences at Ho in the Volta Region and University of Energy and Natural Resources at Sunyani in the Brong-Ahafo Region are new institutions, they are established by Acts of Parliament and therefore state owned making them fully fledged to grant their own degrees.

“The only difference between these new universities and others is simply because those still struggling for recognition such as Ashesi University, Pentecost University, Methodist University and Zenith University Colleges are privately owned.

“These are not universities; they are called ‘university colleges’ to give you the false impression that they are not yet mature, or are probably inferior and can operate only under the supervision of state-owned universities”.

The Chairman said the concept of affiliation to another university solely hung around the neck of private universities and should be abolished, stressing that it is obsolete, counterproductive, and a disincentive to investment in the private educational sector.

Dr Osei K. Darkwa, President of the Ghana Technology University College, said Private Universities admitted more than 26 per cent of students who complete senior high schools every year.

He said Private Universities have introduced an innovative way of studying known as the transnational education, where students could study for the degree of a foreign university without being taught on the home campus of that university.

Dr Darkwa said another contribution of private universities to national development has to do with providing funds for public universities through mentorship and affiliation process to supplement the revenue of the public universities.

He urged the government to start a process of gradually phasing out the system of affiliation to public universities, and restructure the NAB, as well as streamline its operations to solely maintain standards in universities as done in several African countries.

He also said it is necessary for the state to make scholarships and other forms of support available to private universities, seeking to upgrade their faculty or lecturers to pursue terminal degrees; and capacity building at the graduate level should be considered a national responsibility.


Source: GNA

Parliament debates proposed University in Afram Plains

Accra, June 4, GNA - Members of Parliament on Wednesday debated the proposed establishment of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in Afram Plains in the Eastern region, whose bill was first read in 2014.

Majority of members agreed to the proposed institution of higher learning, to address the nation's environmental challenges, and provide more human capacity for sustainable national development.

Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Minister of Education, moved for the second reading and adoption of the Bill, which was adopted by a majority vote.

Former Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Zebilla, Mr Cletus Apul Avoka, in a contribution called for support for the motion, to enable the Government’s promise to establish a public university in each of the 10 administrative regions in Ghana to be possible.

Mr Avoka observed the inability of many qualified students to enter into public universities for lack of adequate space, giving rise to the proliferation of private universities which attract higher fees and more patronage by foreigners.

“Members must support the Bill so that the university can take off by the end of the year,” Mr Avoka urged.

Prof Dominic Fobih, MP for Assin South, and a seasoned educationist, called for the right type of personnel to man the proposed university.

For Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, MP for Ho West, the establishment of the proposed university would care for the vast natural resources, and provide practical experiences in the areas of study.

Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, MP for Manhyia South, called for clearly defined courses, which the whole nation can support.

“Let’s expand the faculties, and not establish new ones (universities) that we cannot fund,” Dr Prempeh said.

Alhaji Amadu Seidu, MP for Yapei Kusawgu, stressed the need for the managers of education to look into the destruction of the environment, and design appropriate programmes with a holistic approach.

Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, MP for New Juaben South, was not happy with the location of the proposed university at the Afram Plains; and argued that it would be more cost-effective to locate the proposed university at Koforidua, the regional capital.

He was of the opinion that the main university should be in Koforidua, rather than Donkorkrom, which should be a satellite campus.

But Mr Mahama Ayariga, a former Deputy Minister in Charge of Tertiary Education, and Mr Mathias Puoza, Chairman of the Select Committee on Education, said universities everywhere whether young or old are still attracting cost, and the establishment of a new one would be less expensive.

Mr Ayariga supported the naming of the university to give it a thematic focus.

Mr Ignatius Baffour, Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip, called for care and adequate resourcing of the newly established universities so that they would not become what he called “glorified senior high schools.”

In another development, Mr. Kweku Rickets-Hagan, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, was in the House to answer questions related to the Ministry.

His response to a question from Mr Robert Kwasi Mensah, MP for Achiase, that sought to know what the Ministry was doing to solve problems of marketing citrus fruits did not match what had been provided in the Order Paper.

When members sought to know why, he answered that he was adding “flavour” to his answer.

Mr Joe Ghartey, Second Deputy Speaker and MP for Esikado Ketan, who sat in the chair, agreed to a suggestion and directed that the Deputy Minister presented his prepared answer, while the one in the Order Paper be expunged.

Answering, the Deputy Minister said the main problem was the disease that affected the citrus fruits, and that the Ministry was in arrangement with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission and a company in Austria to irradiate the fruits to make them marketable.

Source: GNA

Access Bank supports KNUST

Access Bank Ghana has presented a new Toyota Hiace bus to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi to help in the transportation of lecturers.

The gesture forms part of the bank’s commitment to help in improving the learning environment in the educational sector.

The Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana, Mr Dolapo Ogundimu, who presented the bus to Professor William Otoo Ellis, the Vice Chancellor of KNUST, explained that the provision of the bus was expected to help curb the incidence of crime that had recently threatened lecturers, students and staff on campus.

Mr Ogundimu reiterated the bank’s commitment to education, citing the bank’s support for the sector with investments to help bridge the deficit in infrastructure, learning materials and support systems that enable students to thrive and excel.

The managing director further noted that many corporate organisations, including Access Bank, benefited from graduates from the universities, hence the bank’s continued support for the sector.

For his part, the vice chancellor commended Access Bank for its kindness and expressed the university’s commitment to regularly maintain the bus.

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

KNUST inaugurates modern laboratory

A modern laboratory of international standards has been inaugurated at the University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The Central Laboratory, established with the objective of enhancing medical research in the university, was built at a cost of GH¢1.2m through a partnership between the university and the Champion Divine Clinic.


The building, housing the laboratory, has been named ‘Champion Divine Building’. It has a state of the art laboratory equipment for research in subject areas such as Pharmacy, Engineering, Biomedical Sciences and Chemistry.

In an address, read on behalf of the Minister of Education by the Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education, Prof. Mahama Duwiejua, she lauded the efforts of the management of the university for their foresight and creativity and leading it to excellence in its activities.

She emphasised the need for collaboration with the scientific community in the country as a means of boosting research at the newly-established facility.

She hoped that the new laboratory would serve as a hub for the training of students of the university as well as those from other schools and organisations.

The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr Mahama Ayariga, on his part, said the government recognised the efforts the University was making to bring about quality in its output.

He said the establishment of such a modern laboratory should lead to the enhancement of joint research projects between the university and other research institutions in the country and abroad.

He said since there was a great deal of value to be derived from research projects, researchers must collaborate on their works and come out with discoveries that would serve as sources for generating income.

The Vice-Chancellor of the KNUST, Prof. W. O. Ellis, said the construction of the laboratory was part of the university’s vision to upgrade its research laboratories to international standards in order to boost research and provide qualitative teaching.


Source: Written by John K. Essel, graphic.com.gh

Public Universities Milk Applicants Dry

Public universities have sworn to make up for the decline in government subvention, and these days anything goes -- including charging exorbitantly for on-line application scratch-cards when most of the applicants do not even get admitted.

Today most of the applications are either done directly on-line or applicants are asked to download and print application forms at their own cost.

This notwithstanding, the cost of applying to universities in the country, including public ones, has been increasing at a rate that has alarmed many applicants and their families; particularly those with low incomes.

Many people wonder what is peculiar about Ghanaian universities that they have to charge so much as application fees, when most universities globally do not charge a dime for applications.

Ghanaian universities are yet to muster the courage to stop charging application fees even as they have moved away from selling application forms to on-line application platforms.

Currently, scratch-cards to apply on-line for undergraduate programmes at the various public universities go for close to GH¢200 for most of the public universities.

Considering that a good number of applicants apply to a number of universities at the same time, the cost becomes even higher.

“I applied to three universities -- that is KNUST, Legon and UPSA -- and my brother paid almost GH¢600 for that,” said nineteen-year-old Gideon Amartey who is anxiously waiting to go to university. “If I had the money, I would have applied to two others,”he said.

“The transition of application forms from manual to electronic should have lessened the cost, I do not see why it is rather so expensive these days, said Reeves Rhommenze Romeo, a student of one of the universities.

“If the form was hard-copy it is quite understandable (even that should not be expensive, honestly), but it’s electronic now and the price is even higher than when it was manual. I still don't understand; maybe there is a reason for that but for now I don't understand why the fee goes up when it is electronic,” he said.

According to NUGS’ representative on the National Youth Authority, Prince David Orchill, the situation may even compel some potential university goers to settle for the security agencies since they do not have to pay much there.

“We are not very happy with the increasing cost of these scratch-cards. It is not fair. Now they have made the cards so expensive that students spend all their money on registration formalities and are left with no money to pay their fees after they get admitted,” he said.

The universities have argued that in view of dwindling government subvention, they are having to rely on internally generated funds to keep them going.

In its Strategic Plan, spanning the years 2014 to 2024, the University of Ghana says, for example, that its funding sources have changed “significantly” in the last decade since government support has dropped from being more than 90% of its budget to just over 55%.

“The significance of internally generated funds, relying extensively on fees from students, will grow,” it said.


Source: Business & Financial Times

Ghana's educational curriculum needs strict reassessment

Accra, May 5, GNA - Professor Kwame Akyeampong, a Senior Lecturer in International Education at the University of Sussex, has called for the strict reassessment of the content of Ghana’s educational curriculum to make graduates more productive and independent.

This, he said, would ensure that graduates produced by the system acquired the requisite skills needed by industry for national growth, and able to effectively engage in national policy discourse.

Prof Akyeampong was delivering a keynote address at a two-day international conference on Education Research for Development in Africa which opened in Accra on Monday.

The conference, which is being organised under the auspices of the School of Education and Leadership of the College of Education, University of Ghana, and the Department of Education, University of Sussex is on the theme: “Harnessing Education Research for Evidence-Based Development”.

Prof. Akyeampong said it was unfortunate that Ghana’s educational systems fell short of providing students with the skills for their independence once they completed their courses.

He noted that due to the default, the successful education that the country professed to have attained did not reflect in the capacity of graduates being turned up in recent times.

He said the situation was very worrying and made it very vital for researchers to re-look at the content of the various curricular of education to ensure that what was being taught in the classroom was made practical and beneficial for development.

Prof Akyeampong said the entire educational system was deformed, overlooking the issue such as equity, quality, affordability and gender disparity, and mistaking the successes in enrolment levels to mean all-inclusiveness, but this had been in favour of the rich as against the poor, who could not afford the rising cost of secondary and tertiary education.

The success of the educational system would, therefore, require a total overhaul of both content and a correction of all existing gaps such as the huge gender disparities and high school drop-out rates among girls as they progress from the basic through to junior high and senior high schools to the university, even though high basic school enrolment are being recorded each year.

Prof. Akyeampong said unfortunately the gender parity that had been achieved was in favour of the rich, bringing to the fore the issue of affordability which must be critically addressed if Ghana wanted to realise any meaningful growth and development.

He said the role of research was important if the issues raised were to be addressed and called for quality research and stakeholder collaboration to ensure that researches carried out addressed the real problem and made meaningful impact on the lives of people.

Prof. Cephas Omanyo, Provost of the College of Education, University of Ghana, said the conference would discuss topics including Gender, Equity and Social Justice, Framing Quality Education for Equitable Learning, Teacher Education for School Improvement and Educational Leadership for School Improvement.

It would also create the needed opportunity for researchers to grow their research capacities and form research networks with like-minded partners, with the aim of establishing an education research network that would be positioned to address the pressing needs facing education in Ghana and in the sub-region.

Prof. John Gyapong, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, said the establishment of a network of researchers that would frame, influence and critique respective national policies on issues of education that affected the country was urgently needed, and such an association would generate opportunities for competitive research studentships.

He thanked the University of Sussex for its collaboration with the University of Ghana, which would enhance teacher education and also quality research into educational issues.

The conference focuses on how education research can provide insights into some of the development challenges in the African context, and some areas to be covered include policy analysis in education as well as theorising quality education, power and politics in education research.

It would also set a discussion on understanding gender, equity and social justice in development discourse, shifting paradigms of education research and educational leadership in cultural contexts among other things.


Source: Ghana News Agency

UEW Council pleads for increased financial support

Kumasi, May 4, GNA - The Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Dr Emmanuel Kenneth Andoh, has called for increased financial support to aid the expansion of infrastructure for the training of more top class professional educators.

He said inadequate funding was making it difficult to meet the demands on its services by the growing student enrollment.

Dr Andoh was addressing the 19th Congregation of the College of Technology Education of the university in Kumasi.

A total of 3,847 students received Masters and Bachelors’ degrees and Diploma certificates in Business, Technology and other programmes offered at the college.

Two hundred and thirty three students who pursued Diploma in Education programme at the Cape Coast Polytechnic, under a collaborative programme between the university and the polytechnic, also graduated.

Dr Andoh said the College of Technology Education had been transformed into a premier institution for training of professionals in technology education and related fields in the West African sub-region.

The increasing number of graduates’ year-after-year was indicative of its commitment to excellence and continued growth, he said.

He, however, pointed out that the rise in student admission and technical programmes would have to be matched with appropriate financial and material support.

Dr Andoh advised the graduating students to be humble, honest and exhibit high sense of integrity which, he said, were essential in the teaching profession.

Professor Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw, the Vice Chancellor, advised the students to be hard working and to develop right attitudes at the workplace.

He said the university would continue to explore opportunities through innovative ways to equip its students with the right skills to tackle the challenges facing the society.


Source: Ghana News Agency

African Universities urged to adopt ‘tripartite mission concept’

Cape Coast, May 1, GNA - Emeritus Professor Pai Obanya of the Institute of Education, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, has said for African Universities to achieve academic excellence to meet global demand, they must adopt the ‘tripartite mission concept.’

He said academic excellence tripod could be achieved through the emerging paradigm of the triple mission of knowledge; knowledge generation, knowledge transmission and knowledge sharing.

Speaking at a public lecture at the University of Cape Coast on the theme: “Exploring the Academic Excellence Tripod,” Prof. Obanya tasked African universities to also develop both implicit and explicit curricula for a wider array of possibilities to effect total knowledge in teaching and learning.

The lecture organised by the College of Education Studies was attended by students and a cross-section of the academia.

The Emeritus Professor said institutions of higher learning needed to entrench academic excellence through multi-dimensional approach; based on systematic, continuous and career-long education.

The Tripartite Mission of Universities was a concept that sought to clarify what African universities should exist for, and the development-oriented tasks they must pursue, as they struggled to fit into the global league of fountains of knowledge, while at the same time being service-intensive to their local environment.

Looking critically at the mission of tertiary education in this contemporary time, Prof Obanya, who is the immediate past Chairman of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), said universities must incorporate this strategy to enhance their relevance, and produce high-level manpower that could not solve societal challenges.

The ace academician, known as the ‘Grand Sage of Education in Africa,’ further implored the universities to use the consummate researcher functions in a participatory manner, involving the researcher and the researched to address the needs of society.

Prof Obanya opined that universities had been employing individualistic research methodologies, especially in asking students to select research topics on their own without recourse to societal needs.

In his view, this was wrong because according to him, the universities must use strategic institutional agenda to engage and research into the immediate needs of the communities in which they were located and the society at large.

He bemoaned that in our part of the world people equated total learning to success in examination, saying “learning goes beyond mere success in examination.”

“Successful learning is a lot more than exam success, and this involves incorporating life-long and life-wide skills to ensure total learning,” he observed.

Professor Obanya said Africans, though observed culture that much, it should not be a barrier to new learning and thinking outside the box.

Culture, he indicated, was dynamic, and urged both teachers and students to endeavor to break certain cultural and traditional myths to improve research procedures.

He called for creativity among the university fraternity through what he called 'transformational pedagogy’ for effective teaching and learning.

This, Professor Obanya said, must involve the application of both physical and mental activities to improve interest in continuous learning, adding that “For learning to be effective, teachers must employ activity-based methods.”

One critical area that teachers needed to address further was the psycho-social needs of students, and not consider them as mere statistics.

According to him, students had so many personal and social problems which sometimes took their conscience off their academic work, and therefore urged teachers to have the interest of students at heart to help promote effective teaching and learning.

Prof Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, Acting Provost of the College of Education Studies of the University of Cape Coast, who chaired the function, was full of praise for the guest speaker, and urged him to constantly visit the university to share his vast educational expertise with Ghana.

He challenged both teachers and students to imbibe and inculcate the triple mission of knowledge in their academic pursuit, to influence society positively.


Source: Ghana News Agency

Africa needs intellectual independence - Professor Olufemi Bamiro

Cape Coast, April 30, GNA - Professor Olufemi Bamiro, Pro-chancellor and Chairman of Council at Tai Solarian University of Education, Nigeria, says Africa need to be intellectually independent to be able to address its numerous challenges.

He said it is time African universities become proactive, well-researched and community services oriented while maintaining core African values to gain a more respectable position in the academic world.

Prof Bamiro said though education had its roots in Africa, Africans are always relying on the Western world to find solutions and answers to problems which are purely African.

“Almost all the big universities in the world now, the people behind them are all Africans or are of African origin, so why must we always run to the West to have our issues solved while our problems are African? It is time we become intellectually independent to be able to find African solutions to the African problems,” he said.

Prof Bamiro was speaking at the opening ceremony of the first interdisciplinary conference organized by the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration in collaboration with Ghana Association of Educational Planners and Administrators and Tai Solarian University of Education, Nigeria, at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

The four-day conference which is on the theme: “Education as a tool for global development,” is aimed at having an in-depth discussion and of exchange ideas as the participants seek answers from the research perspective.

Prof Bamiro said there is the need to ensure that lecturers are adequately resourced with research logistics and scientific materials since staff quality is a major driver of the change.

He said the polytechnics and the technical universities must be strengthened to produce competent human resource to ensure the sustainability of African industries, adding that sustainable development of industries is a key indicator to modern development.

He said the brain-drain from Africa is major setbacks to development as majority of African graduates who are expected to use the knowledge acquire to help their countries, travel outside for greener pastures.

The Vice Chancellor of UCC, Prof Domwini Kuupole said the conference is as a result of the memorandum of understanding between UCC and the Tai Solarian University of Education in Nigeria to engage in activities that is mutually beneficial.

He said it is a clear demonstration of regional cooperation and expressed the hope that the scholarly discourse would inform the decisions of educational administrators in the sub region.


Source: Ghana News Agency

Colleges partner KNUST to raise academic standards

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two institutions in Kumasi, to spearhead the nation’s development in the area of technology transfer.

Professor William Otoo Ellis, the Vice-Chancellor, said the MoU would evolve appropriate technologies and programmes that meet the demands of industries, corporate institutions, small and medium scale enterprises, as well as the manufacturing sector for sustainable economic growth.

Technology, he said, defines development of any society as it is the basis to alleviate poverty, create wealth and also bring about change to improve the living conditions of the people.

The two institutions are Princefield College in the Volta Region, and Fountainhead Christian College in the Greater Accra Region.

They are seeking affiliation to award degrees in the areas of Accounting, Banking and Finance, Marketing, Communications Technology and Applied Theology and Leadership.

This brings to more than 30, institutions which had so far signed agreements to be affiliated with the KNUST.

Prof Ellis urged the two institutions to strive to attend meetings of the KNUST’s Liaison Committee, which serves as a platform to mentor and nurture affiliate universities.

He reminded them to maintain high academic standards, saying the University would not countenance mediocrity in the admission, academic programmes and examination processes of the two institutions.

Prof Ellis signed for the KNUST, while Dr Alex Nazzar initialled for Princefield College with the Reverend Faithful Biney signing for Fountainhead Christian College.


Source: Ghana News Agency

Court dismisses case against University of Ghana

The Human Rights Court has dismissed the case against the University of Ghana over the closure of some of the access routes to the school.

Some parents of pupils at the University of Ghana Primary School sued the University over the decision to close all access routes into the school.

According to ruling given by Justice Essel Mensah, the suit was not properly brought before the court by the applicants for it to be adjudicated upon it merits hence his decision.

The University of Ghana last year closed all access routes into its campus to the public with the exception of the entrance from the Okponglo intersection, a decision which did not go down well with parents, who subsequently sought a perpetual injunction against the university from continuing with the ongoing restrictions.


Background

The University of Ghana closed all access routes into its campus to the public with the exception of the entrance from the Okponglo intersection.

The closure was announced after the school was forced to suspend its tolling system which generated public outcry leading to the destruction of one of its toll booth by national security operatives.

Subsequently, only vehicles with the 2014 UG sticker were allowed to enter and exit the school through all the access routes.

Some 130 parents whose wards attend the basic school sued the University over the matter.

The parents sought a perpetual injunction against the university from continuing with the ongoing restrictions.


– By: Fred Djabanor/citimonline.com/Ghana

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.

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

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

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

Coalition of Tertiary Students protest payment of utility bills

The Coalition of Tertiary Students, Ghana, say they will resist any attempt by government to make tertiary students resident on campus bear the cost of utilities.

According to them, they will not sit and watch government pass on its social compact expectations on its students.

Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa early this month announced at a meeting of Campus Connect in Kumasi that, as part of measures to reduce the pressure on government coffers, tertiary students resident on campus would be charged for using utility services.

However, at a press conference organised Tuesday, the president of the Coalition of Tertiary Students, Ghana, Mr Duke Aaron Sasu said, “We students and student leaders oppose vehemently this ill thought through Government policy. We would resist any attempt by government to force the hands of students to bear the arrears of utility bills owed by the universities as a consequence of the failure of government of Ghana to exercise its responsibilities.”

They have therefore warned of mass nationwide student rallies to press home their demand.

The coalition has also asked all tertiary students across the country to embark on a ‘red alert crusade’ to register their displeasure, adding, “Every student of Ghana must identify with something red to register our displeasure until the Government calls off this sickening policy.”

The coalition is made up of the Wa and Nyankpala campuses of the University of Development Studies (UDS), the University of Mines and Technology, (UMaT), Kumasi and Takoradi Polytechnics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) Kumasi Campus.


Source: Written by Graphic.com.gh