The Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. George K. T. Oduro, has noted that community schools has a role to play in nurturing  future leaders for sustainable development by  developing in younger ones the spirit of nationalism that will make them internalize the values embedded in the nation’s motto of “Freedom and Justice”.

Prof. Oduro said Ghana needed a type of leadership that would create opportunities for all citizens to enjoy freedom in job acquisition and career pursuit without political, religious or tribal discrimination, freedom to express constructive views on national initiatives and not being unnecessarily tagged on politically motivated attacks.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor made these statements when he delivered a speech on “ Nurturing Future Leaders for Sustainable Development: The Role of the Community Senior High School “ at the25th Anniversary Celebration of Odoben Senior High School in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District  of the Central Region. 

Prof. Oduro said the time had come for Ghana to have a new type of leadership that would allow structures in organisations to function without unnecessary interferences driven by partisan interests.  He therefore, underscored the need for community senior high schools to nurture young ones who would place Ghana first above all partisan interests.

As an agency for socialization, Prof. Oduro said there was no doubt that the school has a crucial role to perform in nurturing young ones towards the sustenance of Ghana’s development.  He added that considering the current complex challenges facing the nation vis-à-vis obligations posed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  which among other things, oblige governments to expand access to quality education and health facilities within the context of equity,  it was clear that the nation need a  paradigm shift in leadership practices at all sectors of the economy.
 
 

Lecturers have been advised to be mindful of their delivery strategies during classes.

According to the Director of the Centre for Teaching Support, Prof. D.D. Adjei, the methods some lecturers adopt to teach make teaching and learning unattractive to students who sometimes lose interest in the subject.

He said: “Some of the methods use by lectures are largely teacher centered which brings about low cognitive learning”.

Prof. Agyei was speaking at a forum organised by the School of Agriculture on the theme “Enhancing the Competitiveness of the School of Agriculture of the University of Cape Coast as an institution of Choice in Ghana”. Prof. Agyei, who was speaking on the topic “ Being an Effective Lecturer”, said effective lecturing was characterized by enthusiasm and impressiveness, clarity and interaction.   The forum, held at the C.A Ackah Auditorium 900, was to take stock of academic activities of the School over the years and also find ways to address key challenges facing it. Prof. Agyei wondered why in the 21st century, some lecturers still dictate notes in the classroom for students to copy.

This method of teaching, Prof. Agyei pointed out, makes students to indulge in “chew and pour “ to pass quizzes, mid-semester examination and end- of -semester examination. He added: “there is hardly any kind of learning in class, concept formation is so much abstract and there is so much emphasis on assessment. So students are only interested about what will come in the quiz, mid or end of semester examinations".

Prof. Agyei stressed that such methods of teaching had adverse effects on students that were churned out each year by tertiary institutions. He said the time had come for lecturers to adopt a paradigm shift in their teaching methods to impact positively on their students.  “The kind of teaching we use in our classrooms has a role to play because it eventually impacts on the turnout of the students we are producing”, he said.  

Effective lecturers, according to him, combine the talents of the scholar, writer, producer, comedian, entertainer and teacher to promote student learning. Prof Agyei pointed out that some of the common lecturing errors included disorganization, over-reliance on teaching method, distracting dress, no break, nervous mannerisms, among others. He said an effective lecturer used the principle of good teaching, plans thoroughly, reflects, evaluates and manages problems strategically.He touched on the six principles of good teaching, which included seeking and incorporating feedback from students and ensuring research enhancement teaching.

Other speakers at the programme were a Senior lecturer at the Department of Animal Science, Sir. Kt. Prof. A. Annan-Prah, who treated the topic “Being an Effective Student,” and the Vice-Dean of the School of Agriculture, Prof Henry de-Graft Acquah, gave a presentation on "Enrolment Trends in the School of Agriculture." Also, a Senior Assistant Registrar at the Institute of Education, Mr. David Larbi, spoke on the topic “Being an Effective Administrator”.

In his remarks, the Dean of the School, Prof. Elvis  Asare Bediako, said the School was considering introducing Bsc. Agricultural Education and it would also collaborate with  Institute of Education to roll out sandwich programmes. He announced that plans were afoot to commercialise some of the activities of the University Farm and the Meat Processing Unit.   The forum was also used to discuss the general overview of enrolment trends in the School of Agriculture. The Director of Academic Affairs, Mr. Jeff Onyame, was also present at the forum.

The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has won the men’s category of this year’s Inter-University cross country competition held at the University of Mines and Technology ( UMAT) in Tarkwa. ATL FM’s news report said the University of Education, Winneba, (UEW), took the second position, University of Ghana (UG) came third and the University for Development Studies(UDS) placed fourth in the men’s category. University of Energy and Natural Resouces (UNENR), UMAT, University of Professional Studies (UPSA) and University of Health and Allied Sciences(UHAS) also earned deserved positions.   In the women's category, University for Development Studies took the first position with 31points to unseat UCC which came second with 75 points, followed by University of Education (UEW) with 119 points to place third. University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), UPSA with 127, 206, 275 points respectively.

Speaking at the event, the Vice-President of Ghana Universities  Association (GUSA), Dr. D.K. Osafo, paid glowing tribute to the late president of the Association, Prof. J.K Orgah, describing the him as “ industrious and innovative”. He recalled the implementation of five year development plan for GUSA, initiated by Prof. Orgah, which anchored on seven strategic focus areas, namely: increase visibility of GUSA, increase participation of GUSA activities, make GUSA more effective in national sports development,  improve capacity of GUSA in service delivery. The rest are introduction of  gender and disabilities issues into GUSA activities, increase in professionalism into GUSA activities and make GUSA more financial stable.  He said his demise was a great loss to GUSA and the nation. The Vice- President of GUSA, therefore, prayed God to grant the family and close associates of the deceased the fortitude to bear the loss. For his part, the Head of UCC Sports Section, Dr. Daniel Apaak, after the competition, congratulated UCC athletes on their performance. He said the Sports Section would strengthen the recruitment of sports women next year and called for management’s support. “I think with the support of management, we will be able to get a team that will compete against UDS ladies. The problem for us now is the ladies.” he said. He said currently, UDS had 10 good sportswomen, all in first year, and cautioned that if no serious steps were taken to recruit more sportswomen, UDS would dominate the women's cross-country for a long time. Below is the Table  for both men and women respectively: MEN Universities                           Points UCC                                          29 UEW                                         79 UG                                          114 UDS                                        173 UNER                                      227 UMAT                                      307 UPSA                                       346 UHAS                                       399 FEMALE DIVISION  

     UDS                                           31 UCC                                           75 UEW                                         119 UG                                             29 KNUST                                      209 UPSA                                         275  

The Director of the Counselling Centre, Prof. Godwin Awabil, has called on teachers to teach their students study skills so that they will improve upon their academic performances. He noted that one of the missing links in Ghana’s educational system was the absence of study skills which many teachers had failed to teach the students. “We present our lessons to students and ask them to learn without the specific techniques that they would use in learning so that they can improve upon their academic performance,” he observed.

Prof. Awabil was making a presentation on “Improving the Study Habits of Students through Study Skills” at a seminar for students of Accra College of Education.

Prof. Awabil said most students fail examinations because they had not been taught Study skills and indicated that “In our educational system, from primary school to university, it is important that we teach the children not only content but methods they can use to master the information, how to take notes, manage their time, all these skills are very essentially if we want improvement in academic performance of students.

The Director of Counselling Centre explained that teaching the students study skills would help them plan their study time, read and write effectively, adding that students would be able to take notes properly, concentrate very during study and also remember what they have learnt. He further indicated that it was essential for teacher trainees to be taught study skills because, they would become effective learners; promote good academic performance and retention of students. He also mentioned that it would enable teacher trainees to become effective teachers and to be able to teach others study skills.

Taking the teacher trainees through the types of study skills, Prof. Awabil mentioned memory strategies, time management skills, concentration strategies, consultation strategies, note-taking methods, reading strategies, writing skills and test/examination taking strategies.

Prof. Awabil advised the students to be guided by the study skills strategies to help them adopt good study habits in order to improve their academic performance.