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Minister advocates the study and
teaching of science
Akropong-Akuapem (E/R), Dec. 17.Ghanadot/GNA - Ms Elizabeth
Ohene, Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education,
has said that for effective industrial development of the
country, special emphasis should be placed on the teaching
and learning of science, technical skills and mathematics.
She said it was against that background that the Ministry of
Education Science and Sports had not only encouraged the
study of those subjects in all training colleges, but had
also designated 15 of them as science colleges where
in-depth studies were being made in the fields of science,
technology and mathematics.
Addressing the first Diploma graduation ceremony of the
Presbyterian Training College (PTC) at Akropong Akuapem at
the weekend, Ms Ohene noted that the upgrading of the
teacher training colleges was aimed at improving education
at the basic level.
In all 381 graduants made up of 247 males and 131 females
were awarded with diploma in Basic Education, Technical
Skills, Pre-Vocational and Catering, Pre-Vocational and Art,
Music and Dance, Physical Education and Ghanaian Languages.
Ms Ohene said the time had come when teacher training
colleges should not be considered as dumping grounds for
unemployed youth who only took teaching as a last resort or
as a conduit to other professional and academic attainments,
but rather be for teacher trainees who had the love and
desire to make teaching their profession.
She noted that for the upgrading of post secondary teacher
training institutions to diploma awarding ones to achieve
the objective, the quality of intake of students would have
to be improved.
"Again, the quality of staff and teaching in the
institutions would also have to be improved so that there
would be a dramatic improvement in the quality of the
products that emerged from those institutions".
Ms Ohene said government had demonstrated its belief that
improving teacher education was central to the success of
the new education reforms.
She said it was against that background that infrastructural
development and improvement in the various colleges had
received greater attention by the construction of new
libraries, science blocks and additional classroom blocks at
all the teacher training colleges.
The Minister said the magnitude of resources that the
government was pumping into the training of teachers
required that students in those institutions take full
advantage of the opportunity provided for teaching and
learning, by disciplining themselves and making effective
use of their time.
Ms Ohene said the government was conscious of the challenges
that were confronting training colleges, especially this
period of transition from the post-secondary to the tertiary
level and gave the assurance that the problems would be
addressed.
The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Right
Reverend Dr Yaw Frimpong Manso, in his address commended the
College on its outstanding performance at all levels and
challenged the graduants to project good virtues of
integrity, dedication, knowledge skills and commitment as
evidence of Presbyterian orientation.
The Principal, Mr Emmanuel Osei in his report said the
College; the oldest institution of higher learning in Ghana
was established in 1842 by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
He said as far back as 1911, efforts were made by the Church
to turn the college into a university, but that could not
materialize adding that the nearest the college came towards
offering a tertiary course was in 1965 when it was turned
into a Mathematics and Science Specialist College.
The Principal expressed worry about problems of staff
accommodation saying that bungalows meant for individual
families were shared by two or more families, a situation
which sometimes led to friction among them.
He appealed to the government as a matter of urgency to
provide the College with more staff accommodation.
The Principal also appealed for the rehabilitation of roads
on the campus adding that "the beauty of the College campus
was seriously marred by the village type of roads".
He said even though Information Communication Technology (ICT)
formed part of curriculum of teacher training colleges, the
institution seriously lacked the equipments that would
prepare the students adequately to teach the pupils computer
studies.
He said the College out of its own resources had managed to
set up ICT laboratory with only 40 computers but this was
inadequate for a population of 1,300 students.
GNA
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