The immediate past Provost of the College of Distance Education (CoDE), Prof. Isaac K. Galyuon has underscored the invaluable contributions of CoDE towards expanding access for Ghanaians to pursue quality tertiary education.

He said scores of people had been offered the opportunity to enroll to pursue academic programmes via the distance mode of education.

Prof. Galyuon made the remarks at a ceremony to mark CoDE Day which formed part of activities earmarked for the 60th anniversary of the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

Attended by management of UCC, members of faculty, students (past and present) of CoDE as well as coordinators, the event was on the theme: "60 years of Quality Higher Education: Expanding Access through Distance Learning.”

To expand access through distance learning, the former Provost told CoDE-UCC to take advantage of ICT to engage students online.

To achieve that, he suggested to CoDE to run programmes in three phases namely; printed mode for students without internet connectivity, electronic mode, and the list mode for students who can combine the aforementioned.

Prof. Emmanuel Abu, Chairman of the CoDE Day UCC@60 Planning Committee

Prof. Emmanuel Abu, Chairman of the CoDE Day UCC@60 Planning Committee

Prof. Galyuon called for management support to enable CoDE deliver on its mandate.

"The College enjoyed maximum support from UCC Management from 2001 to 2016. However, from 1st October, 2016 to date, the support has been inadequate, particularly between 1st October, 2016 and 1st August, 2020," he pointed out, calling on management to continually repose trust in the College Management.

He also appealed to management to complete developmental projects of the College.

Prof. Galyuon suggested to management to appoint two deputy Provosts of CoDE to assist the Provost in the discharge of his responsibilities.

"One deputy Provost assisting the Provost for management of programmes, course tutors and examinations and the other Provost for general administrations, finances, as well as linkages and external affairs."

He also appealed to management to elevate heads of programmes to the rank of Dean and course coordinators to the rank of Heads of Programmes at the College.

A section of participants in the CoDE Day climax

A section of participants in the CoDE Day climax

He threw his weight behind the renaming of CoDE to the College of Distance Learning (CoDL) and honourably rendered an unconditional apology for kicking against the name and his relentless support for the name CoDE at the initial stages.

In a video message, the first Director of the Centre for Continuing Education(CCE) now CoDE, Mr. Albert Kobina Koomson, recalled the formative stages of the College and urged the new crop of staff to give off their best.

For his part, a former Vice Chancellor of UCC, Prof. S.K Agyapong, in a video address, gave the historical background of the College. He was enthused about the growth the College has seen over the years and prayed for more successes for CoDE through discipline and hard work.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

A Professor of Religious and Moral Education at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Rev. Prof. Seth Asare-Danso, is calling on government through the Ghana Education Service (GES) to make the study of Religious and Moral Education (RME) a core subject from the pre-school to secondary levels.

He described as baseless the argument advanced by a section of the public that RME had not been able to eradicate moral decadence in society and thus, its study was irrelevant at the pre-tertiary level.

Prof. Asare-Danso noted that the school was one of the agents of socialization and questioned why some members of the public were of the belief that only the school was duty-bound to enforce morality.

Making the remarks at his inaugural lecture, Prof. Asare-Danso emphasized that it was the collective responsibility of social organisations to help shape the moral fabric of the Ghanaian society.

The inaugural lecture was on the theme: “Fulfilling the Mission of the Basel Mission for Sustainable Development: the Presbyterian Praxis.”

“The School is just one of the agents. It must start from the home, the family, the church, the mosque…social organisations have collective responsibility. We need to work very hard to ensure that we will all be able to contribute towards nation building by building a moral community. Let us start from our home,” he said.

VC-UCC, Prof. Boampong, congratulating Rev. Prof Asare-Danso. Looking on is Prof. Philip Ebow Bondzie- Simpson

VC-UCC, Prof. Boampong, congratulating Rev. Prof Asare-Danso. Looking on is Prof. Philip Ebow Bondzie- Simpson

 During the 1960s, 90s, and around 2007, he recalled with sadness that successive governments spared no efforts to remove RME from the curriculum and later reintroduced the subject following public outcry.

He maintained that: “In fact, we cannot throw RME from our educational system.”

Unlike UCC, Prof. Asare-Danso took a swipe at some public universities for developing half-baked religious courses for colleges of education, advising them to include Anthropology of Religion and Philosophy of Religion in the development of their religious courses to enable them produce all-round religious graduates.

“UCC will continue to provide leadership for this country as far as teacher education is concerned,” he noted, praising UCC for developing first-class religious courses for colleges of education affiliated to it.

Prof. Asare-Danso also lauded government for including Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Schools in the free senior high school education system.

He, however, identified negative mindset of the public, especially parents, towards TVET as a key challenge militating against technical and vocational education, insisting that TVET was not for academically weak students and urged government to step up education to disabuse the minds of parents from the negative perception.

Rev. Prof. Asare-Danso being robed by Prof. Philip Ebow Bondzie into the College of Professors. With the microphone is former VC, Prof. D. D. Kuupole

Rev. Prof. Asare-Danso being robed by Prof. Philip Ebow Bondzie into the College of Professors. With the microphone is former VC, Prof. D. D. Kuupole

Prof. Asare-Danso used the occasion to walk the audience through a laundry list of pro-poor initiatives rolled-out by the Presbyterian Church, including health facilities, education, sanitation, trade, agriculture among others.

With regard to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) he maintained that the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PSG) had achieved all the seventeen (17) goals judging by the community development schemes it had initiated to promote sustainable national development.

“So if you try to match what the PSG has done against the UN SDG whether there is any goal that seems not to have been captured, I couldn’t get one. They have fulfilled all the goals to the Glory of God” Prof. Asare Danso said.

The event attracted a number of distinguished personalities, including the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, who chaired the inaugural lecture.

Also present was the Registrar, Mr. Jeff Teye Onyame, as well as staff and students.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

Management of University of Cape Coast (UCC) is calling on security agencies to invite Nana Kwesi Mensah III, Chief of Kwaprow, one of the communities surrounding the University. The invitation is to interrogate and seek further proof from the said chief over claims of ownership of some portions of the University’s lands.

This call follows a press conference by the chief over claims that the University was unlawfully claiming ownership of some acres of land belonging to his community and threatened to employ force to get his demand of repossessing the land met.

“If persuasion fails, force must be applied” the chief is quoted to have said.

However, a statement signed by a Senior Assistant Registrar at the Directorate of Public Affairs, Mr. Kwabena Antwi-Konadu, for the Director, Major (rtd) Kofi Baah Bentum, said the University was worried by the threat and called on the security agencies to invite and interrogate the chief over the threat.

The statement said the threat by the chief was borne out of an ongoing fence wall being constructed by the University to halt further encroachment on its land.

Giving the historic background to the acquisition of the land by the University of Cape Coast, the statement noted it was first acquired under an Executive Instrument (EI), State Lands (University College) Instrument, 1968 (E.I. 87). This was amended in 1972 by an Executive Instrument (EL 13), State Lands (Cape Coast-Site for University College) Instrument, 1972. The Land size covered under the E.I 13 is 6.22 square (sq.) miles.

It further noted the Lands Valuation Board of the Lands Commission – at the time of the acquisition – was tasked to identify the owners of the Lands.

“There were sixty-three (63) individuals and families who owned various sizes of land making a total of 6.22 sq. miles. Records from the Lands Commission shows that full compensation for 95% of the total land was paid to the prior owners. Of the remaining 5% not fully paid, records show part payment to the owner(s), file of the owner(s) not available at the Lands Commission and conflicting claims made by different individuals or families,” the statement, dated 9th August, 2022 stated.

It described as untrue government reducing the size of the land to 4.5 sq. miles and ceding the remaining to Kwaprow or any other community.

The statement pointed out that “Any such reduction or cession of portions of the University land ought to be done through the same Executive Instrument but no record exists to prove that claim.”

“Notwithstanding,” it added, “the receipt of full compensation, the University has, over the years, witnessed concerted efforts by the leadership of the communities, including Kwaprow, to sell portions of the University lands.”

The statement enjoined public bodies entrusted with public lands to take measures to protect the land, whilst quoting the Public Lands (Protection) Decree, 1974 (NRCD 240) as amended by the Lands Act 2020.

It noted further that “At the instance of the Oguaamanhen, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, UCC management met with residents of Amamoma and Kwaprow on February 2, 2022 to discuss the way forward in respect of residents whose structures would be affected by the planned construction of a wall by the University.”

"At the said meeting, it was agreed that persons affected by the construction should submit relevant details for purposes of verification, since it was established that most of them did not possess valid documents to the land.

"The University at that meeting also assured residents, whose properties fall within the wall, that it does not intend to demolish their properties.

“There is no evidence whatsoever to prove any demolition of properties belonging to residents whose properties fall within the said wall being constructed,” the statement concluded.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC