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Universities urged enhance distance education
Cape Coast, Dec. 8, Ghanadot/GNA - Reverend Professor
Emmanuel Adow Obeng, Vice Chancellor of the University of
Cape Coast (UCC), on Saturday underscored the importance and
benefits of distance education and called on universities to
harness their strengths to achieve the best in distance
education for the nation.
He said most of the public universities were running a
number of programmes by distance and stressed the need for
them to share their varying strengths especially in
resources that might be too expensive for any particular
university to provide on its own.
Prof. Obeng, who made the call at the matriculation of 6,200
students on the distance education programme at the UCC,
said it was also imperative to carefully scrutinize the
programmes and courses being offered by the various
universities to avoid undue duplication of programmes.
The students the made up of 3,942 males and 2,258 females
are offering diploma and degree programmes in Basic
Education, Commerce, Management Studies and M. Ed
Information Technology. This brings the total number of
students on distance education in UCC to 21,000.
Prof Obeng said most of the universities were omitting
science and technology programmes in their distance
programmes due to the high cost involved and called on the
government to provide some kind of support to institutions
that were prepared to set up science technology programmes
by distance.
"Generally there is also the need for the establishment of
an umbrella body that would have the sole duty of monitoring
and strengthening distance systems in the country"
Prof Obeng said there was also the need for regular
consultation amongst the directors and deans of the various
centres and faculties for the programmes to enable them
share best practices that would further enhance the quality
of distance education programmes.
Prof Obeng said support from local communities and other
stakeholders was also crucial to the success of the distance
programme and called for support from the local communities
in the form of space for the construction of study centres,
libraries and hostel facilities.
He commended chiefs of Koforidua-Effiduase, Dominase, Dormaa
and Agona Nyarkrom who had released 50 acres of land to the
university to establish permanent study centres in the
regions.
He also appealed for bursaries from the district assemblies
for students especially those in rural areas to defray fees
incurred and said this would encourage more people
especially teachers to acquire further education.
Touching on the new educational reforms, Prof. Obeng said
its success would depend largely on adequate funding,
infrastructure support and above all the quality of
teachers.
He said to improve the quality of the teacher there was the
need for continuous education to upgrade their knowledge,
competencies and skills.
"It would be necessary to institute compulsory in-service
educational training for teachers at both pre-tertiary and
tertiary levels, this underscores the importance of the
distance education to the current educational reforms."
On discipline, he said it was the bedrock of any progressive
and forward looking institution and that UCC had survived as
a result of non-compromise on discipline.
He expressed concern about the conduct of some of the
students and said there were some instances where some
distance students had involved themselves in examination
malpractices, use of abusive words, mob attacks and
disrespect for the staff who visited the study centres.
GNA
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