A group photograph of university officials, guest and participants
The College of Education has held a Durbar and Colloquium on the theme: “Celebrating Excellence: Shaping the Future of Education in Ghana”, as part of its year-long activities marking the 70th anniversary of the University of Ghana.
Prof. Kwame Offei, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs, who gave the welcome address, noted that the College of Education, through its learning centres across the length and breadth of the country has created opportunities for all to access quality education at their door steps through excellent teaching, research and scholarship. He emphasized the need to create a platform aimed at constructing innovative ways of positively re-structuring education in the country and further challenged the College to consider steps that could make its graduates more equipped for the job market.
Prof. Kwame Offei delivering the welcome address
The Acting Provost of the College of Education, Prof. Michael Tagoe gave a brief report on the state of the College. His report focused on research as well as various upcoming conferences and collaborations.
Prof. Michael Tagoe, Acting Provost of the College of Education
The Durbar was chaired by a member of the College Advisory Board, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee. She congratulated the College of Education and the University on its achievements and indicated that much was required from them in the years ahead. She noted that the development of the nation rests in the training and preparation offered to the youth, stressing that a lot still needs to be done on shaping the future of education in Ghana. She charged participants to resolve to play their role in bringing up and nurturing the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs that Ghana requires.
Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee, member of the College Advisory Board
Prof. Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State for Tertiary Education, who was the Guest Speaker for the event, emphasized the need for universities to strengthen institutions dedicated to non-formal education, and to double their efforts towards enabling such institutions to benefit from interventions aimed at improving access to quality education and training. He emphasized the role of the University of Ghana as a pace setter, noting that “if the University excels, so do other universities and by extension, Ghana.
Prof. Kwesi Yankah delivering his address
Prof. Yankah lauded the University for its contribution to national development and for training thousands of students who have made their mark both within Ghana and on the international stage. He traced the history of the current School of Continuing and Distance Education, one of the three Schools in the College of Education, from the Department of Extra Mural Studies, which later became the Institute of Adult Education and then the Institute of Continuing and Distance Education. He urged the College to continue to mount programmes that promote lifelong learning opportunities as well as ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all. In line with the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, Prof. Yankah encouraged the College to work towards mainstreaming marginalized segments in the educational process, considering these as equally important targets and beneficiaries of the educational process.
There was an exhibition of scholarly works by the College faculty and concurrent sessions during which the faculty members presented their research work. There was also a panel discussion on the topic: “Linking education to jobs: How ready are students for Entrepreneurship?” with Mrs. Jocelene Buckman, Director, Careers and Counselling Centre; Mr. Alex Mould, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, and a consultant at Milstreet Capital; Mr. Phillip Dela Zumanu, an entrepreneur and a Doctoral candidate; Mr. Ebenezer Owusu, a past participant of the UG Enterprise Zone and Mrs. Emi-Beth Aku Quantson, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Kawa Moka Limited; as the panelists.
Panelists
The University of Ghana was founded as the University College of the Gold Coast by Ordinance on August 11, 1948 with the purpose of providing and promoting university education, learning and research. It subsequently obtained a charter by an act of parliament (Act 79) on October 1, 1961 to operate as a fully-fledged university and renamed the University of Ghana. The University’s year-long anniversary celebration on the theme: “Celebrating Excellence, Shaping futures” was launched on February 20, 2018.
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