Advisory Board For College Of Education Inaugurated

 

Members of the newly inaugurated Board in a group photograph with University Officials

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, has inaugurated the Advisory Board of the College of Education at a brief ceremony at the Legon Campus. The 13 member Board, chaired by Mr. Felix Nyarko-Pong, Managing Director of uniBank Ghana, will provide guidance to the Provost to ensure the College meets the objectives for which it was established. The Board is made up of persons whose stature and experience in academia, industry and business is expected to enhance the development of the College.

Based on current development perspectives and experiences from global trends; the Board will guide the College in developing strategies; receive proposals from Management Committees of Schools within the College; assist in fostering effective links between the College and external communities; help to maintain and enhance the image and reputation of the College; and advise on the relevance of the College in order to enhance its sustainability.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor briefed members of the Board on the rationale behind the adoption of the collegiate system by the University, emphasizing that the major aim was to create a decentralized structure to see to the reduction of bureaucracy and to ensure that systems and structures work in a more efficient and effective manner.

He stressed that with so many changes in the educational landscape, there is the need for the University of Ghana to be relevant, and adapt to the changing times. He noted that there are a myriad of problems inherent in the Ghanaian educational system, the most basic being the lack of adequate training to equip teachers to effectively impart knowledge to their students. The philosophy driving the establishment of the College of Education, he added, is to improve upon the training and therefore the quality of teachers at all levels, and influence the way teaching is done. The Vice-Chancellor stressed that what will differentiate education programmes in the University of Ghana from all others will be the use of new technologies in education. He was optimistic that the College of Education would also be able to positively influence the ways faculty in the University go about their teaching and research.

The Board Chair, Mr. Nyarko-Pong, commended management of the University for the bold initiative taken in adopting the collegiate system. He expressed members’ gratitude for the opportunity to serve on the Advisory Board. He said while the Board would work hard to lead the College to attain world class status, he was certain that all members would collectively bring in their expertise to drive resource mobilization. He stressed the need for all Ghanaians to be concerned about the challenges facing us as a nation, and pledged to work with management towards solving some of these challenges.

Members pledged to work hard to enable the College of Education advance its objectives, and were optimistic that given their varied backgrounds and experience, they would be able to form a strong team to work towards improving the quality of education in the country, and training solution-minded graduates.

Members of the Advisory Board are: Mr. Felix Nyarko-Pong (Chairman); Rev. Professor Cephas Omenyo (Provost); Professor J.M. Hyde a distinguished academic representing the University Council; Professor Harry Akussah acting Dean of the School of Information and Communication Studies, representing the College’s Academic Board; Honourable Kosi Kedem a former member of Parliament and Chairman of the Ghana Library Board; Professor J.S. Djangmah a distinguished academic and former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service; Mr. C. K. Bruce Chief Executive Officer of Innovare and an Information Security management and implementation expert; Mrs. Patience Akyianu, Managing Director of Barclays Bank Ghana; Mr. Felix Addo, Country Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC);Mrs. Beatrice Adom, headmistress of Achimota School,  Dr. Joyce Aryee, a Management Consultant and Professional Counsellor, and Executive Director of Salt & Light Ministries a para-church organisation; Ms. Rachael Commey, the student representative on the Board, and Ms. Naa Ahenei-Amartey-Commey, representing Junior and Senior staff of the College.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Student Affairs), Professor Kwame Offei, the Provost, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, Professor Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu and the Registrar, Mrs. Mercy Haizel Ashia, were also present at the inauguration.