The University of De Montford, Leicester Castle Business School(LCBS), United Kingdom is offering a postgraduate scholarship package for one business student from the UCC School of Business to pursue masters programme in Finance.

A representative of the University in Ghana, Adeyemi Adeleke announced this when he called on the Pro Vice Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro at his office.

The scholarship award is described as a follow-up dividend of the UK Education Fair held at UCC last year. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor assured Mr. Adeleke that the University would get good students for selection into the programme. “We are sure to start with the best students and once the best students make their mark, we are sure you will increase the number”.

Present was Dr. Patrick Ofori, a lecture at the School of Allied Health and a facilitator of the UK Education Fair held at UCC.

Prof. Oduro thanked the De Montford University for their choice of UCC to provide the scholarship.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro has called on parents, teachers and educators to strive to be good role models in the use of social media.

He noted that these three stakeholders of education have the responsibility to ensure that the youth make the right choices. “As parents, teachers and educators, we need to encourage our youth to express their views on the use of social media by engaging them in one-on-one talks. We must be prepared to listen and offer corrections and suggestions in an affable manner”, he stressed.

Prof. Oduro made this call when he delivered an address as the Special Guest Speaker during the 16th Speech and Prize-Giving Day of the University Junior High School (UJHS) and Launch of the 30th Anniversary. The ceremony was on the theme “The Emergence of Social Media and Its Implication for Discipline”.

Prof. Oduro indicated that to effectively direct and guide children, teenagers and the youth to do the right thing, stakeholders must upgrade their knowledge on social media applications, sites and generally, the use of the internet. He also advised against the use of traditional methods of discipline involving physical punishment for breaking rules and disturbing order to more dialogue, adding that “We need to take a call on media discipline that will work for our society and let us not make social media a scapegoat”.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor noted that through social media has contributed positively to the technological advancement of society, its impact could equally be very dangerous, especially on the youth. He said social media sites help to promote creativity, interaction and sharing of knowledge among users but cautioned that teenagers could be exposed to immoral lifestyles. He pointed out that “Social media can also be likened to fire, which is a very good servant but can become a very bad master if you allow it”.

Delivering a report on the School, the Headmistress, Mrs. Kate Frimpong said the UCC JHS has over the years made remarkable strides in terms of academic and extracurricular activities. She noted that the School has always been on the top of the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (B.E.C.E) in the Central Region. She pointed out that a pupil from the school, Master Oduro Kofi-Quakyi received the 2016 President’s Independence Award for being the best pupil in the BECE.

Mrs. Frimpong said the school management has established an endowment fund to construct a three-storey building complex for the School in the next three years. She, therefore, appealed to old students, organisations and philanthropists to contribute towards making this vision a reality.  She expressed gratitude to Prof. Oduro and his family for contributing GH¢ 1,000 to the fund.

The Chairman for the function, Mr. Jeff Teye Onyame who is the Director of Academic Affairs praised UJHS for its outstanding achievements adding that “We are all witnesses to the high-quality academic standards of the school”. He used the opportunity to advise the pupils to concentrate on their education and cautioned them not to be distracted by social media due to its addictive nature.

Some past students of the UJHS presented educational items and plaques to the School at the function. The Chairman of the Parent Teacher Association of UJHS, Dr. Michael Boakye-Yiadom also raised funds and officially launched the 30th Anniversary of the School.

Featuring at the function were rich cultural performances, poetry recitals and cadet display.

The Dean of the Faculty of Arts in the University of Cape Coast Professor Dora Edu Buandoh has said respecting other cultures make us one people. She said as Ghanaians, we should show our identity as people who are hospitable. She maintained that Africa is one continent, therefore divisions will not be necessary. Professor Edu Buandoh made this call at a dinner organized by the French Department of UCC to see off some Togolese students who came to the University to enhance their proficiency in the English language. In an interview with ATL FM, Professor Edu Buandoh observed that exchange programmes help students to learn and appreciate other people's culture which brings Africans together as one people. She advised students from other Departments to take advantage of the exchange Programme to enhance their skills in other fields of their training. The leader of the students' group from Togo Fauzia Yawa spoke to ATL FM on how the Programme has benefited them. Source: atlfmonline.com

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. D. D. Kuupole has underscored the University of Cape Coast’s commitment to maintaining its symbiotic relationship with the Colleges of Education.

Prof. Kuupole noted that with the upgrade of Colleges of Education (CoE) to tertiary status, UCC has the responsibility to offer the best form of mentorship to the 43 Colleges that have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University.

The Vice-Chancellor made these remarks when he addressed management and staff of some Colleges in the Central, Eastern and Ashanti Regions as part of his nationwide tour to Colleges of Education affiliated to the University of Cape Coast.

Purpose of Visit

Prof. Kuupole explained that the relationship between UCC and the CoE has entered into another phase and therefore it was important to meet management and staff of the various Colleges to discuss the responsibilities and expectations of the two partners. He described the visit as a “listening tour” indicating that “we are here to listen to your concerns, challenges, expectations and aspirations regarding our relationship with you.”

The upgrade of the CoE to tertiary status demands that Colleges would have to change their mode of operation to match the standards set by the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) and the National Accreditation Board (NAB), the Vice-Chancellor stated. He noted staff of the CoE should possess the requisite qualification and competence to work in the Colleges.

The mandate of the Professional Board

Prof. Kuupole pointed out that all decisions concerning the academic work of the Colleges of Education emanate from the Professional Board and not the University of Cape Coast. The Professional Board is made up all the Principals of both public and private CoE, 10 representatives from the UCC including the Vice-Chancellor who chairs the Board, a representative of NCTE, Teacher Education Division and the Ghana National Association of Teachers, he explained.

Vice-Chancellor’s Team

The Vice-Chancellor embarked on the visit with a team from the Institute of Education comprising the Director, Prof. Frederick Ocansey, Coordinator of Research and Publication, Dr.(Mrs.) Alfredina Kuupole, Senior Assistant Registrar, Mr. Prosper Nyatuame and Accountant, Mr. Daniel Abina Dwaase.  

Capacity Building for Tutors and Staff of CoE

Speaking of opportunities available for upgrading, Prof. Ocansey said that the University has mounted several postgraduate programmes which the tutors, administrative and professional staff could pursue at UCC. He also announced that the University could mount specific programmes upon request for the Colleges on distance bases.  “We can even bring lecturers to the various regions to lecture provided a number of tutors and other non-teaching staff enrol on such programmes so that you can work and still upgrade yourself,” he announced.

Research

Dr. (Mrs.) Kuupole reminded the tutors that their promotion would depend on the number of research articles they produce stressing that “In the tertiary institution, you either publish or perish”.  She assured the tutors that the Institute of Education would soon organise workshops to strengthen their skills in the area of the research proposal, grant and article writing.

Colleges Visited

Seventh Day Adventist College of Education, Asokore-Koforidua- Eastern Region

Kibi Presbyterian College of Education, Kibi-Eastern Region

Abetifi Presbyterian College of Education, Abetifi-Eastern Region

Agogo Presbyterian Women’s College of Education, Agogo-Ashanti Region

Methodist College of Education, Oda-Eastern Region

Christ the Teacher College of Education, Kumasi-Ashanti Region

Ola College of Education, Cape Coast-Central Region

Komenda College of Education, Komenda-Central Region

Foso College of Education, Assin Foso-Central Region

By:DOCUMENTATION & INFORMATION SECTION