The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro has called on members of the National Executive Council of University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to complement management’s effort to enhance the reputation of the Universities of Ghana both locally and internationally.

Prof. Oduro made the call when members of the national executive council of the UTAG paid a courtesy call on him as part of their second quarter meeting at the University of Cape Coast. He entreated UTAG to espouse the ideals of the University and not be confrontational in their relationship with management. “Whilst you seek the welfare of UTAG members, you need to also show interest in our primary responsibility of disseminating knowledge through teaching and research,” he added.  He, therefore, urged them to contribute towards creating an enabling environment for teaching, learning and research in their respective campuses. He wished them well in their deliberations.

On behalf of the delegation, Dr. Henry L. K. Agbanu thanked the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for granting them an audience. He gave the assurance that UTAG would continue to partner management to raise the image of universities in Ghana to meet international standards. He further indicated that they were ever prepared to engage in dialogue with management on issues bothering on their welfare and conditions of service.

Dr. Agbanu was accompanied by UCC Chapter of UTAG executives and their president, Prof. Kwame O. Kwarteng and other executives from public universities in the country.

The Vice-Chancellor Prof. D. D. Kuupole has paid working visit to some Colleges of Education (CoE) in the Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions to strengthen the long-standing relationship between the University of Cape Coast and the Colleges.

The visit was to afford the Vice-Chancellor opportunity to listen to their concerns and also explain issues regarding the upgrade of CoE to tertiary status. The Vice-Chancellor was accompanied by a team from the Institute of Education (IoE) comprising the Director, Prof. Frederick Ocansey; Coordinator, Research and Publication, Dr. (Mrs.) Alfredina Kuupole; Senior Assistant Registrar, Mr. Prosper Nyatuame and  Accountant, Mr. Daniel Abina Dwaase.

Colleges of Education Act 2012

Interacting with management and staff of the colleges at separate meetings on their campuses, Prof. Kuupole praised the colleges for maintaining a cordial relationship with UCC since the 1970s. He noted that the passing of the Colleges of Education Act 2012, Act 847, by the Parliament of Ghana meant that CoE has now been upgraded to the status of tertiary institutions. He said the act enjoined CoE to be formally affiliated to a University that would mentor them to carry out their mandate of training competent teachers for the basic schools. “The Act provides that the development of academic policies, regulation of courses, development of academic standards, the conduct of examinations and award of diplomas should be undertaken in consultation with an affiliated institution,” he stressed

Capacity Building for CoE

The Vice-Chancellor indicated the new status of CoE meant that the forty (40) public and six (6) private colleges of education had to position themselves to be seen as such. He noted that based on the new development, UCC would continue to support the colleges by building the capacity of teaching and administrative staff to deliver up to expectation.  He said aside from the regular workshops for principals and tutors, the UCC intend organising training workshops for the colleges on zonal and regional basis adding that “Colleges that need tailor-made training can make a request and it will be organised for them.”

Speaking on opportunities for the upgrading of tutors of the colleges, Prof. Ocansey said UCC has designed new M. Phil and Ph. D programmes for the 2016/2017 academic year which the tutors can take advantage to upgrade themselves. The new programmes are Measurement and Evaluation, Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Teacher Education.

Research and Publications

On research and publications, Dr. (Mrs.) Kuupole reminded the tutors of the colleges that because of their new status as tertiary institutions, they would be promoted based on their research output and publications. She informed them of the Journal of Educational Development and Practice at IoE which some tutors from Akatsi College of Education have already published their articles. She said a training workshop would be organised to help the tutors develop skills on writing research articles, proposals, position papers and grants.

Colleges Visited

Some of the colleges the team visited were Peki College of Education, Peki; E. P. College of Education, Amedzofe Holy Spirit College of Education, Akatsi College of Education, Akatsi all in the Volta Region. In the Eastern Region, the team interacted with management and staff of Mt. Mary’s College of Education, Somanya; Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong and Presbyterian Women College of Education, Aburi. The team also visited Ada College of Education, Ada and Accra College of Education, Madina in the Greater Accra Region.

The team also addressed students in some of the colleges they visited. Some of the concerns raised by the Principals and tutors of the various colleges where the newly introduced Academic Progression Policy for students in the CoE; Memorandum of Understanding between UCC and the Colleges; Supervision and marking of examination scripts. Others were New Curriculum for CoE and Challenges surrounding the migration of CoE to tertiary institutions.

A two-member delegation from the British Council has paid a courtesy call on the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. G. K. T. Oduro at his office.   The visit was meant to explore possible ways of the collaboration between UCC and the British Council. The team comprised Assistant Director, Emily Sawle Thomas and Project Delivery Manager, Christiana Bandoh.   Emily Thomas said the British Council was very happy to support UCC in finding collaborations that would enhance the quality of delivery by faculty.  It was for that reason they were on campus to explore more on institutional sponsorship to ascertain how effective that could be and also what could be done to take it to the next level. She said their visit was also intended to express appreciation to the university for hosting the UK International Fair on its campus last year.   A lecturer at the School of Allied Health Sciences, UCC, Dr. Patrick Ofori who accompanied the British Council delegation urged the two parties to consider issues concerning students in their collaboration.  Dr. Ofori specifically mentioned areas such as how to link up and treat foreign students, how to groom students for both internships and job interviews. He called for the institutionalization of such collaborations instead of allowing them to be revolving around individuals who do the linking up.   Prof. Oduro in his response said he was very much delighted to be receiving the delegation on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor indicating that the visit has opened up an avenue for dialogue and discussions.   Assuring the delegation that the collaborations would not be “hijacked” by individuals, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor said it was now mandatory for collaborations to go through the appropriate university processes before they were finally approved.   Prof. Oduro told the delegation that one area that needed to be considered critically was how to write winnable research grant proposals by local researchers. He said since most of the research comes from foreign partners it was difficult for local researchers to lead in such research undertakings and therefore warrants serious capacity building and strengthening. In that direction, he proposed to the British Council to invite people from the United Kingdom and elsewhere to help in the capacity building process.  

Implications of the Recent Utility/Fuel Price Hikes on the Ghanaian Economy Reflections on Recent Developments and Regulatory Directives in Microfinance

17th February 2016 Sasakawa Conference Centre

University of Cape CoastImplications of the Recent Utility/Fuel Price Hikes on the Ghanaian EconomyImplications

•       Government –      Increase in Revenue for Development –      Provisions and Availability of Utilities –      Financial Sustainability of the Utility Sector •       Households –      Increase in cost  (Transportation,  Commodities etc) –      Reduction in Real  Income (Spending) –      Increased Unemployment –      Decrease in Welfare •       Industry –      Increase in Cost of Production (labour and capital ) –      Low Productivity  and  Low Profits –      Redundancy (lay-off  of workers) and Closure of firms Recommendations •       Revenue –      Widening the tax base -  more of the informal sector –      Block leakages and wastages ( wasteful activities and corruption) •       Utilities –      Key energy-intensive industrial firms must be encouraged to adopt newer technologies that help to reduce the energy-intensity –      Review the current electricity tariff structure (reduction in subsidization  of non-productive sector –      Reduction in distribution losses and improvement in efficiency  

Reflections on Recent Developments and Regulatory Directives in Microfinance Developments

•       The microfinance sector at a crossroads (From Micro to Macro) •       Landscape has changed considerably –      More heterogeneous, Entry is confused , Regulation is Confused –      Funding landscape has changed, MFIs Numbers have increased –      Real Competition  is still missing •       Results and Implications –      Non-performing loans –      Withdrawal of deposits as a result of panic and lost of confidence –      Increase in default (delinquency) –      Moral Hazard –      Public Panic and Outcry The way forward •       Government Responsibility - Guarantee -  embedded in the regulation –      Embargo on the Start-up of MFIs/Operations –      Improvement Risk Management Systems –      Improvement of Institutional/Governance Structures –      Training and capacity building - standardized. –      Improvement of Market infrastructure     •       Credit referencing: •       Consumer protection •       Deposit protection –      Rebuild Confidence in the Sub-Sector (educational campaigns, rating of institutions, credit bureaus) –      Improving Financial Literacy Summary •       The hikes in the utility and fuel prices have negatively affected the welfare of the citizenry. •       The recent developments in the Microfinance sector have negatively affected the finances of the clientele of the dubious Institutions •       Government policies should always seek to maximize the welfare of the citizenry