A group photograph of dignitaries at the event
A new Global Education Centre under construction in Accra is expected to expand access to digital learning and employment resources for students enrolled in BYU-Pathway Worldwide, Elder Clark G. Gilbert has said.
Elder Gilbert, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the centre will provide students with technology, study space and other resources to support their education and professional development.
The facility, being constructed near the Accra Ghana Temple, is expected to house more than 100 computers.
“It’s in the high-rise building just down the street. It looks out over our church’s temple here,” Elder Gilbert said in an interview during a visit to Ghana as part of a tour of the church’s Africa West Area.
He said the centre will bring together several elements of students’ academic and professional lives, allowing them to study, access employment resources and participate in other educational activities.
“Early next year, we will dedicate the BYU Pathway Global Education Centre here in Accra,” he announced.
The development builds on a programme that began in Accra in 2011 with a small group of students sharing a single computer. According to Elder Gilbert, BYU-Pathway has since expanded substantially across West Africa.
“Today, across all of West Africa, we have almost 40,000 students,” he said.
The programme offers online higher education in fields including accounting, project management, social media marketing, digital marketing and healthcare management.
Students can begin with job-skills certificates before progressing to associate and bachelor’s degrees. The curriculum and assessments are the same as those used in the church’s universities in the United States, he said.
The centre is also intended to address practical barriers to online education. Elder Gilbert noted that church buildings provide internet access for students to participate in online classes.
According to the church, the Accra centre will provide students with access to technology, study space, institute classes and employment resources.
It forms part of a wider expansion of Global Education Centres in areas where students have limited access to local educational resources.
Elder Gilbert said the broader objective is to ensure young people have opportunities to develop their abilities.
“These students are capable. They can do amazing things. They just need the opportunity,” he said.
The initiative comes at a time of growing concern about the transition of young Ghanaians from education to employment, with academic qualifications not always translating into job opportunities.
Beyond Ghana, BYU-Pathway is expanding its network of Global Education Centres to provide technology, reliable internet and opportunities for collaborative learning, with the aim of making higher education more accessible to students facing financial, geographical or technological barriers.
A Daily Guide Report