1,614 Graduate from Offinso College of Education
One thousand six hundred and fourteen teachers have passed out from the Offinso College of Education to help address the shortage of qualified teachers in basic schools.
The graduates were made up of 483 regular students who underwent a three-year Diploma in Basic Education (DBE), 323 students who pursued a two-year Sandwich Diploma in Education and 808 students who did the four-year Untrained Teachers in Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE).
Quality education
Addressing the graduates at the graduation ceremony at Offinso in the Ashanti Region, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Mrs Elizabeth Agyeman, said the socio-economic development of any country hinged on the quality of education provided to its citizenry.
She explained that the government was committed to making education a major priority and had committed itself to bold and visionary programmes for the transformation of education in the country.
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Educational reforms
Mrs Agyeman stated that among the educational reforms and interventions of the government were the free senior high school (SHS), technical and vocational schools policy starting from the 2017/18 academic year, the restoration of teacher trainee and nursing trainee allowances, as well as motivation allowance and scheme for teachers, especially those posted to the rural areas.
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She said at the tertiary level, the government would make adequate provision for research to facilitate innovation in technology and emphasised the continuous linkage of academia to industry and the world of work.
Mrs Agyeman believed that, “This will entail realigning curricula at the various levels of education to ensure their relevance to industry and the manpower needs in the various sectors of the economy.”
Financial constraints
The President of the Christian Service University College (CSUC), Prof. Sam Afrane, who was the guest speaker said the data available showed that in the past years, many pupils who were placed in various SHSs were unable to enrol because of their parents’ inability to bear the cost as a result of financial constraints.
He, therefore, expressed his appreciation to the government and the Ministry of Education for it’s readiness to launch the free SHS programme for first-year students in 2017/2018 with bold and strong political will, which would not only boost the development of education but also serve as a financial relief for parents.
The Principal of the College, Mr Lloyd Alexander Djangmah, in his welcome address said the college would continue to train the best professional teachers who naturally gained access to the global market and beyond despite the challenges the college faced.
