The Vice-President of Christ Apostolic University (CAUC), Prof. Clement Somua, has challenged universities to adopt best teaching practices that will help to produce graduates who are critical thinkers.

He said university education should not produce graduates who would only reproduce what they had been taught in school adding that “they should be innovative and contribute meaningfully to transform society”

Prof. Somua was speaking at the opening ceremony of a training workshop organised by the University of Cape Coast for seven affiliate institutions at CACUC in Kumasi.  He said there were so many problems in the country but wondered whether the universities were helping to solve them “I want us to train students who will look at the problems and solve it for us otherwise we have a problem as a nation, “he said.  He commended the UCC for leading the way by training lecturers in its affiliate institutions to adopt best teaching methods, assessment of students and research supervision. “You must innovate and lead us in the way we set questions, moderate exams questions and other academic activities,” he added.

The workshop brought together seven institutions affiliated to UCC comprising the host CAUC, College of Integrated Health Care; Ear, Nose and Throat Nursing School, Kwadaso Agriculture College, School of  Anaesthesia , Sefwi Asafo Nursing Training College and School of Dispensing Optics, Oyoko.

In his remarks, the Head of Institutional Affiliation, Mr. Justice Agyenim K. G. A Boateng, said the essence of the workshop was to challenge the status quo. He said a similar training had been organised for lecturers of UCC to streamline and set standards for moderation exercises in affiliate institutions. “This workshop is not to impose what we know on you but it is to help all of us to adopt best practice in ensuring quality in the work we do,” he explained.

Mr. Boateng said UCC as a teaching University would not compromise on quality and would ensure that its affiliate institutions also adhere to this principle. He said the fact that affiliate institutions were not paying for the workshop showed the seriousness management of UCC attached to the training programme.

On behalf of Centre for Teaching Support, Dr. Godwin Aboagye, thanked the lecturers from the seven institutions for turning up in their numbers. He said the topics for the workshop would expose them to best practice of assessing students, conducting research and supervising students’ project work. He called for their cooperation to achieve the objectives of the workshop.

Resource persons for the workshop were Dr. Godwin Aboagye, Dr. Samuel Essien-Baidoo and Dr. Kofi Acheaw Owusu.