The Board of University of Cape Coast Affiliated Colleges of Education has been inaugurated at a ceremony on campus.
Members of the Board include the Vice-Chancellor, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Provost of the five Colleges in UCC, Director of Academic Affairs, Director, Institute of Education, UCC; Executive Secretary/Representative of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), Director of Academic Affairs, UCC and Director of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance (DAPQA).
Others include Principals of the 16 Colleges of Education and in attendance are Coordinators of Outreach Unit and Assessment Unit, Education Research Unit as well as the Accountant and Secretary of the Institute of Education.
Speaking at the function, the Chairman of the University Council, Mrs. Nancy O. Thompson, implored members of the Board to carry out their assignment with diligence, commitment, objectivity and team work. She was confident given the calibre of members of the board, the University and the country as a whole would benefit immensely from their rich knowledge, expertise and experience.
Functions of the Board
Mrs. Thompson who swore members of the Board into office explained that they were expected to consider and approve programmes of study of the Colleges of Education as well as the appointment of External Examiners. According to her, the Board would consider reports on the end-of-semester examination results from the Academic Board of the Affiliated Colleges of Education and also recommend the award of certificates, Diplomas, and Degrees to successful candidates.
She further noted that the Board would formulate academic policies, rules, and regulations for the affiliated colleges including those relating to programmes of study, admissions, teaching, assessment, progression, research and award of degrees and other academic distinctions. Mrs. Thompson said the Board would also approve the calendar of activities for each academic year and consider the reports of inspection, monitoring, visiting committees to the Colleges.
Teacher Education Reforms
Giving the background to the teacher education reforms, she noted that the Ministry of Education launched the Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) programme with funding from the UK-AID to enable teachers to have competencies and skills to improve on the learning outcomes of pupils in basic schools. She indicated that as a result, Cabinet in September 2017 approved the National Teachers Standards (NTS) for pre-service teachers and the National Teacher Education Curriculum Framework (NTECF). In addition to this, a four-year Bachelor of Education programme for the Colleges of Education under the mentorship of UCC, University of Ghana (UG), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Education Winneba (UEW) and the University for Development Studies (UDS) has been rolled out.
The four-year Bachelor of Education programmes are Bachelor of Education, Lower Primary (from KG to Primary 3); Bachelor of Education, Upper Primary (from Primary 4 to Primary 6); and Bachelor of Education, Junior High School (JHS 1-3), the Chairman of Council explained.
Transition for Affiliation
Mrs. Thompson said MoE had set a transition period of five years for the affiliation of the Colleges to the five universities. She further indicated that “During the transition period, the universities were expected to offer assistance with respect to faculty, assessment, certification, capacity building, and other relevant services to the colleges”.
Mrs. Thompson reported that the Institute of Education was mandated to pilot the B.Ed programme for fourteen (14) public and two (2) private Colleges of Education already affiliated to UCC. She noted that as part of activities to give the Colleges a solid and robust foundation, various capacity building programmes had been organised by UCC for the management and staff of the Colleges of Education to enable them to run the new programmes effectively.
Professional Licencing Examination
Touching on the licensure examination, the Chairman of the UCC Council said the students were required to write the professional licensing examination after completing the four-year studies. “The fifth-year would be a period for school placement, induction and reflective research as part of the professional preparation for licensing and this is aimed at giving candidates the qualified Teacher status and admission into the Teaching Profession”.
UCC's Relationship with the 16 Affiliated Colleges of Education
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, explained that with the new arrangement, the relationship between the University and the Colleges would further be enhanced. “The 16 Colleges assigned to UCC would be given the opportunity to perform certain functions on their own,” he stated. He noted that each of the affiliated College’s Academic Board would consider the examination results of its students before presenting it to the Board of University of Cape Coast Affiliated Colleges of Education for ratification.
Prof. Ampiah, however. indicated that the Professional and Awards Boards for the 46 Colleges in the country would still be in operation until the second year students complete their programmes of study in 2022. “The 46 Colleges in the country are running UCC Curriculum and. therefore, we shall work with the colleges until the second year students complete their studies,” he emphasised.
The Vice-Chancellor assured the 16 Colleges affiliated to UCC that the University would continue to provide them with the needed assistance to position them among the best tertiary institutions in the country and beyond.
Appreciation
On behalf of the Colleges, the Principal of the OLA College of Education, Rev. Sr. Elizabeth Amoako-Arhin said it was an honour for the Colleges to be partners with UCC. Rev. Sr. Amoako-Arhin who is also the immediate past President of the Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF) noted that the responsibility bestowed on them was herculean; however, with the support of UCC, they would be able to reposition their various institutions to make a mark to train competent teachers for the country. “We will not fail this country considering the high expectation of Ghanaians to see an improvement in the quality of education” she assured.