Search

UCC: GAUA Executives Sworn into Office

01 Sep, 2022 By DIS

The University of Cape Coast (UCC) branch of the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) has sworn in new officers to steer the affairs of the association for the next two years.

 

The fresh executives are  Mr. Felix Adu-Poku as President; Mr. Anthony Arthur  as Vice- President; Mrs. Charity Abraham as Secretary; Mr. Farouk Umar as Assistant Secretary; Mr. Atta Attom Prah as Treasurer and Mr. Alfred Ghartey as Editor.

 

A Senior Legal Officer with the University of Cape Coast, Mr. Solomon Faakye administered the oath of office to the new executives.

 

Speaking after the swearing-in, Mr. Adu-Poku expressed gratitude to members of GAUA for the trust and confidence reposed in the new executives and assured members of their readiness to work tirelessly to build on the legacies of their predecessors.

 

He lauded the immediate past president of GAUA-UCC, Mr. Kwabena Antwi-Konadu for his staying power to combine the role as national GAUA president as well as "steering the affairs of GAUA-UCC."

President of GAUA-UCC, Felix Adu-Poku, speaking at the swearing in ceremony. With him are the other executives.

 

Mr. Adu-Poku described GAUA-UCC as a "trail blazer in the affairs of University Administrators and professionals in Ghana”. He promised his team would work hard to maintain standards and in unity inject more vibrancy into the Association.

 

The Registrar of UCC, Mr. Jeff Teye E. Onyame, who was the guest of honour at the ceremony, urged the new officers to live beyond reproach and assured GAUA-UCC of his support.

 

He told the new executives to justify the confidence and trust placed in them by the members of GAUA-UCC to enhance the reputation of the association, while wishing them well in their tenure of office.

 

The immediate past president of GAUA-UCC, Mr. Kwabena Antwi-Konadu, in a short remark, entreated members to help the new executives to achieve their mandate because the task ahead was herculean.

 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

60 UCC Students Awarded for Excellent Academic Performance

01 Sep, 2022 By DIS

The School of Allied Health Sciences has awarded sixty (60) students for exceptional academic performance at its Dean’s Awards Ceremony.

 

The deserving students – from level 100 to 400 – obtained Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.5 and above during the 2021/22 academic year.

 

The students received certificates for their accomplishments with undisclosed sums of cash prizes.

 

Addressing the students, the Dean of the School, Prof. Desmond Omane Acheampong, congratulated the awardees on their academic achievements and advised them not to rest on their laurels. He encouraged other students who could not make it on the Dean's Award list to strive to study hard to make it on the award list next academic year.

 

Prof. Acheampong charged lecturers of the School to give the students practical and real experience-based teaching to prepare them well to meet the global job market.

Some participants in the awards ceremony

 

The Dean also announced that plans were advanced to award lecturers at the School. The move, Prof. Acheampong observed, was to motivate lecturers to give off their best to enhance teaching and learning at the School.

 

"Already we have Dean’s awards for students but we also think we need to award the lecturers who teach the students so we are thinking of awarding lecturers come next Academic year,” he explained.

  

Other faculty members used the occasion to commend the students and advised them not to be complacent in their studies.

 

As part of the programme, a consultative meeting was held to enable management of the School to get first-hand complaints from students regarding their studies.

 

The Dean, as well as faculty, responding to the students' challenges, promised to iron out their difficulties with alacrity.

 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

President of ECOWAS Court of Justice Reiterates Call for Constitutional Amendment

30 Aug, 2022 By DIS

The President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, has added his voice to the growing calls for the amendment of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution to ensure strong institutions in the country.

Under the current constitution, he maintained that politicians were developing stronger men than stronger institutions in the country.

“Look at what is happening at the Judiciary; they will say the president has appointed his favourite (judges). In Cape Verde for instance, it is a Council (made up of judges and other legal people) that appoints the judges and not the executive. Certain parts need to be changed in the Constitution” he continued.

Justice Asante was addressing the ninth Jurists’ Confab organised by the Faculty of Law of University of Cape Coast.

The Confab was on the theme: “Consolidating Democracy, the Rule of Law and Respect for the Ballot in an Era of Good Governance.”

Some participants in the Confab

The President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice pointed out that for the Executive and the Legislature to vet the budget of the Judiciary undermined the assertiveness and independence of the Judiciary.

He added that Ghana’s Supreme Court should take a leaf out of the Kenyan and Malawian Supreme Courts to adjudicate electoral disputes expeditiously.

He called for alignment of the Ghana Card to enable the Electoral Commission to use it to conduct elections.

With the advent of technology, he noted that the announcement of electoral results must not be delayed to cause anxiety among the populace.

 

For her part, the immediate past Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Lydia Nkansah, urged government to back calls to amend the Constitution.

Immediate past Dean, Faculty of Law-KNUST, Prof. Lydia Nkansah

“Deep down in our hearts, each of us knows that our constitution needs amendments, even if the degree to which it should be amended is contested,”  she underscored.

According to her, many parts of the constitution called for  a review, however, there had not been demonstrable commitments by governments to cause the amendment process.

 

The former Dean cited suffocation of Parliament by Executive dominance; the reluctance of government to support state institutions to deliver on their mandate and the winner-takes-all; as well as political, bureaucratic and administrative responsiveness as some grey areas for constitutional review.

Pro VC-UCC, Prof Rosemond Boohene (in green, centre) in a group photo with some dignitaries and faculty at the Confab

 The Pro Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, who chaired the event, called on Ghanaians to choose the right democratic governance structure that was in line with the aspirations of Ghanaians.

The University, she underlined, was ready to equip its graduates with employable skills for the job market.

The event had in attendance the Central Regional Police Commander, DCOP Alexander Amenyo.

 

 Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

Malaria Genomics Key in Eliminating Malaria – Researcher

30 Aug, 2022 By DIS

A Senior Research Fellow at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Dr. Anita Ghansah, says the use of malaria genomics can eliminate the scourge of malaria in Ghana. 

 

She noted that the vector-transmissible disease was said to be preventable and treatable, yet it continues to have worrying impact on the health and livelihood of people living in endemic countries. Therefore, she called for the genome sequencing of the population as a catalyst for Ghana's response to malaria.

 

According to her, genome sequencing allowed for the compilation of the most comprehensive information about an organism’s genetic makeup.  Using advanced next-generation sequencing methods, she noted, scientists were able to track and compare viral mutations to understand the origins of imported strains and to discover if any novel strains were emerging locally.Senior Research Fellow, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Dr. Anita Ghansah

Senior Research Fellow, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Dr. Anita Ghansah

 

Dr. Anita Ghansah, who was speaking at the 13th Convention of Biomedical Research (CoBReG) and the first College of Health and Allied Sciences (CoHAS) joint meeting at UCC, was presenting a paper on the topic, “From Genome to Policy: Unveiling the importance of Genomics in Public Health in Ghana.”

 

"If we get this information, it will help the Malaria Control Programme strategize on the use of their interventions and it will make a huge impact in malaria control towards elimination in the country. If there are any emerging resistant parasites, we will be able to curtail it or contain it to where it is occurring before it spreads” she said. 

 

Dr. Ghansah backed the training of people in the area of bioinformatics with computational skills to equip with the skills to analyze the enormous biological data provided through genomic sequencing.Provost of the College of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof. Martins Ekor, speaking at the Conference

Provost of the College of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof. Martins Ekor, speaking at the Conference

 

The Provost of the College of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof. Martins Ekor, in his welcome address, asked researchers not to keep their research findings in the labs, but urged them to "translate into society to effect the changes that we all desire".

 

He commended researchers in the sub- region for "coming together to set up a vaccine centre that will prepare us for the unknown."

 

Other speakers at the 3-day programme included a lecturer at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr. Augustina Sylverken, and a professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy-USA, Prof. George Acquah-Mensah.

Group photo of speakers and participants in the conference

 

The general theme for the 13th Convention of Biomedical Research, Ghana held at the University of Cape Coast was “Deploying cutting edge biomedical and clinical research to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in sub-Saharan Africa”.

 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

Prof. Kwarteng C’ttee Presents History of UCC Document to Vice-Chancellor

30 Aug, 2022 By DIS

A four-member committee constituted by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, to draw up the history of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has presented its final report on the document.

 

Chaired by Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng, with Prof. Wilson Yayoh, Prof. De-Valera N.Y.M Botchwey and Dr. Peter Boakye as members, the committee was tasked to produce a book documenting the history of the University from 1962-2022.

 

Presenting the report, entitled, “A History of the University of Cape Coast: Sixty Years of Quality Higher Education in Ghana. 1962-2022”, Prof. Kwarteng thanked the Vice-Chancellor for the confidence reposed in the members to carry out such an important assignment.

 

He said the committee knew it was an important and delicate assignment to document the history of UCC to mark the 60th anniversary celebration of the University; hence, they attached importance to it and dedicated themselves to all issues with meticulous attention.

Prof. Kwarteng (with document in hand) speaking during the presentation

 

He told the Vice-Chancellor that the document was made up of five (5) parts, with thirteen (13) chapters.

 

Prof. Kwarteng indicated that the new document was a build up on the 50th anniversary celebration document on the history of UCC.

 

Receiving the report, Prof. Boampong commended members of the Committee for their sacrifices and dedication to a worthy cause. He was confident that the report was appropriate and fit-for- purpose.

 

Prof. Boampong expressed optimism that considering the expertise of the Committee’s chair and its members, the document would be an invaluable historical asset to guide staff and students of the University.

 

The Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rosemond Boohene and the Registrar, Mr. Jeff Onyame were present at the meeting.

 

 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

StuFSO Organises Symposium on Entrepreneurship

30 Aug, 2022 By DIS

The students’ Financial Support Office (StufSO) of University of Cape Coast has organised a symposium on entrepreneurship with a call on students to be innovative and venture into entrepreneurship to create more employment opportunities after school.

An Entrepreneurial Coach, Ms. Irene Naa Korkoi Armah, who made the call, advised start up entrepreneurs to face their fears to enable them to succeed.

According to her, fear was a challenge most people face in the entrepreneurship world and needed to overcome it to achieve their purpose.

Ms. Armah was addressing students who were beneficiaries of scholarships awarded by StufSO.

Speaking on the theme: “Becoming an Entrepreneurial Student”, the Entrepreneurial Coach said to be an entrepreneur was challenging, but one had to be persistent in order to be successful.

Entrepreneurial Coach, Ms. Irene Naa Korkoi Armah, speaking at the symposium

She observed that young people with entrepreneurial mindsets were leaders of the future and encouraged startup entrepreneurs to make that bold move to live their dreams.

A lecturer and Agribusiness Programme Coordinator with the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension-UCC, Dr. Ing. Alexander T.K Nuer, who treated the topic: “Financial Management Tit bits”, called for personal financial management to ensure one’s financial stability.

“The art of financial management is a habit and a lifestyle that is needed to be cultivated and made part of a person’s life” he stated.

He explained that for one to achieve financial stability, it was incumbent on the person to work hard.

An Assistant Registrar at StuFSO, Ms. Grace Mensah, in her presentation on the topic: “Time Management,” advised students to manage their time properly while in school since that would offer them a positive step to excel in life.

She noted that time was a non-renewable resource which needed to be managed efficiently to excel in life, pointing out that failure to do so would have dire consequences for their future aspirations.

Ms. Mensah observed that most students wasted too much of their time on frivolities and matured without achieving their goals.

Pro VC-UCC, Prof. Rosemond Boohene

In her welcome address, the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, lauded StuFSO for the scholarship scheme and advised the beneficiaries to concentrate on their studies and be good ambassadors.

She emphasized that education remained the greatest legacy, hence, the need to support brilliant but needy students in UCC to achieve high academic laurels.

 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

We Won't Send Medical Students to Cuba Again - MoE Chief Director

30 Aug, 2022 By DIS

The Chief Director at the Ministry of Education (MoE), Mr. Divine Yao Ayidzoe, has disclosed that the Ministry will no longer send Ghanaian medical students to Cuba.

 

According to him, the students were unable to communicate and understand the Spanish language, posing a huge difficulty to their medical studies in Cuba.

 

"When I went to Cuba, my students there were struggling to learn the Spanish. So we (MoE) have resolved that we are sending no more students there. We will rather arrange for the [Cuban] professors to come and teach the medicine in English in Ghana," he noted.

 

Mr. Ayidzoe made the disclosure at a public lecture organised by the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast.

 

It was on the topic: "The Impact of Globalization on Education and the Importance of Acquiring Chinese as a Second Language."

 

The Chief Director announced that teachers in private schools would have to acquire a license in order to be qualified to practice.

Mr. Divine Yao Ayidzoe (2nd right) in a photo with Chinese Director of UCC Confucius Institute, Prof. OU Yamei (2nd left) and Ghana Director of UCC Confucius Institute, Prof. Ishmael Mensah (left)

 

"Next year (2023), we will have to license teachers in our private schools. In other words, if you are not licensed, you cannot be a teacher in a private school," he said.

  

He pointed out some of the educational reforms ongoing at the Ministry of Education and added that there was a need for a transformation of the current education system to enable the country to compete with others in the world.

 

He noted that the reforms would prepare and equip students with the necessary job skills to be successful in the world of work.

  

For her part, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at UCC, Prof. OU Yamei, encouraged Ghanaian students to study Chinese to enhance their opportunities of gaining employment with the various Chinese companies in Ghana.

  

In a remark, the Ghana Director of the Confucius Institute at UCC, Prof. Ishmael Mensah, equally entreated students to position themselves to take advantage of the study of the Chinese language to secure a place in globalization.

 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

CoDE Provost Cautions Students against Violent Clashes on Campus

30 Aug, 2022 By DIS

The Provost of the College of Distance Education (CoDE), University of Cape Coast (UCC), Prof. Anokye Mohammed Adam, has cautioned students to desist from all forms of violent acts on campus.

 

Such actions, he noted, posed a threat to their future academic attainment since students who engage in violent clashes would face the full weight of the law, stating that failure to punish crime fosters impunity.

 

Prof. Adam said the University had sanctions for any indiscipline act either on campus or outside the University’s premises and advised students to adjust their lifestyles and activities to align with the dictates of the Students' Handbook to enable them have a smooth and successful stay on campus.

 

He was addressing an orientation ceremony for the first batch of non-residential undergraduate regular students on the distance mode at UCC.

 

The Provost told the students that UCC had put in place a communication mechanism that would address their challenges, grievances and complaints.

Some of the students at the orientation

 

He, therefore, encouraged them to make good use of the channels and avoid any negative tendencies of violence, disruptive behaviour and disharmony. He encouraged the students not to underrate themselves because they were reading the same programme just like their counterparts on the regular mode.

 

"The certificate you are going to get is what everybody will get" the Provost noted.

 

He added that plans were afoot to begin weekday lectures for students in CoDE centres in Kumasi and Accra.

 

Prof. Adam called on the students to demonstrate total commitment to time so they could become responsible leaders in society. He implored students to demonstrate exemplary conducts, discipline and right attitude in the pursuit of their academic journey.

 

"Let us build the right attitude and develop ourselves", Prof. Adam told the students.

  

 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

Handbook of Research on Distance Education in Ghana Launched

29 Aug, 2022 By DIS

The College of Distance Education (CoDE) has launched a two hundred and four (204) page book titled, “Handbook of Research on Distance Education in Ghana” at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

The eight (8) chapter book, which is in three (3) parts, touched on topics such as “Students’ Satisfaction and Persistence in Distance Education” and “Distance Education Students’ Readiness for Online Learning at UCC.”

Other topics included “Models of E-Learning Methodologies for Teaching and Training in Distance Education: A review” and “Workplace Stress among Administrators of UCC CoDE”.

Some of the highlights of the book include the blended e-learning in distance education at CoDE, as well as the readiness of distance education students towards online learning.

Further, the book explains the implications of the findings on policy and practice for uptake of online learning from both the perspectives of management at CoDE and students.

Launching the book, the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, said the timing of the book was apt since it explained in detail means of improving upon distance education in Ghana.

She, therefore, recommended the book for individuals, institutions and policy makers.

Prof. Boohene urged all Ghanaians to patronise the book, adding that it would be the first of many to come.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor praised the authors for the masterpiece that would not only advance the holistic approach to improving distance education in Ghana, but also guide tertiary institutions running the distance education mode to achieve the desired results.

Some students of St Augustine’s College at the book launch

She urged Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of reading to enable them broaden their knowledge and skills for national development.

For his part, the immediate past Provost of the College, Prof. Isaac Galyuon, expressed appreciation to all who had helped the book come to fruition.

Beyond the launch, he indicated, the book would be made available at some public libraries across Ghana.

A roll call of contributors of the book include: Prof. Isaac Galyuon, Dr. Brandford Bervell, Prof. Paul Ahiatrogah, Dr. Paul Nyagorme, Dr. Valentina Arkorfu, Mr. Godsway Believer Gbeze and Dr. Vera Ankoma-sey.

Others are Dr. Gabriel Essilfie, Dr. Frank Quansah, Dr. Regina Nugba, Mr. Emmanuel Agyapong, Dr. Beatrice Asante, Dr. Moses Segbenya, Mr. Fred Peniana, Dr. Abdul-Jaleel Saani, Mr. Emmanuel Eshun, Mr. Alfred Ghartey and Mr. Isaac Elliot Nyieku.

The book was forwarded by Prof. John Nelson Buah, a former acting Provost of CoDE.

 

The launch of the book attracted high profile personalities, including the Registrar of UCC, Mr. Jeff Teye E. Onyame.

Former Ag. Provost of CoDE, Prof. Nelson Buah, receiving a citation of honour from Pro VC-UCC, Prof. Rosemond Boohene

The event was also used to present awards to some deserving past Provosts of the College as well as other staff. Some CoDE Coordinators and Study Centres also received awards.

 

 

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

UCC Complements Police Efforts to Combat Terrorism

24 Aug, 2022 By DIS

The University of Cape Coast, UCC, has taken the lead to support the Ghana Police Service in the training of Personnel to fight the scourge of terrorism.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, who made the disclosure, said UCC would continue to train law enforcers to counter terrorism threats on the state to ensure the safety of citizenry.

“With the increase in threat to global peace and security abilities…Hence, the need for more competent professionals to meet the security and terrorism challenges in Ghana and beyond,” she said.

“UCC has taken the lead in this direction to support the efforts of the Ghana Police Administration to train our law enforcement men and women,” the Pro Vice-Chancellor added.

Pro VC-UCC, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, delivering her speech at the Matriculation

Prof. Boohene was speaking at a virtual matriculation ceremony for the 2021/ 2022 distance mode academic session.

The nine thousand, one hundred and sixty-eight (9,168) fresh students from the Police Academy, Health Training Institutions and College of Distance Education, were admitted to pursue undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in Peace and Security, Health, Education, Business and Social Sciences.

 

Out of the number, 7, 625 students were pursuing undergraduate programmes while the post graduate students were 1, 543.

A section of fresh PhD students at the ceremony

She said the University was highly reputed globally and noted that their matriculation oaths did not only enjoin them to be of good behaviour, but it was a pledge and commitment to be disciplined and good ambassadors of the University.

Prof. Boohene urged the students to pursue excellence in their academic work by striking the right balance between academic work and other social and extra curriculum activities.

The Registrar, Mr. Emmanuel Onyame, administered the matriculation oath.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

Pages