Prof. Ahmed Jinapor
The Deputy Director General for the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (G-TEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor, has described the roles played by members of Colleges of Education Governing Councils as very crucial and, therefore, urged them to work hard to impact positively on the education development of the country.
He said there was the need for them to focus on their mandate and ensure that their Colleges become centres of excellence in the training of teachers in the country.
Prof. Jinapor announced this in his welcome address on Friday during the opening of a three-day training for the Sunyani zone of the Governing Councils of Colleges of Education (COEs) in Sunyani.
The training, organised by the G-TEC in collaboration with T-TEL, was aimed at orienting the council members of what was expected of them and also help them to know their relationship with GTEC.
In attendance were Governing Councils of Al-Faruk College of Education, Atebubu College of Education, St Ambrose College of Education, St Joseph’s College of Education, Wiawso College of Education, Berekum College of Education and Bia Lamplighter College of Education.
Presentations were made on the establishment of the G-TEC-Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020, Act 1023, the Ghana Tertiary Education Policy, the College of Education Act, 2012 Act 847, Understanding the Business of Councils, Understanding the harmonised documents of the COEs, Quality Assurance Management Practices at the COEs, Financial Management Resource Mobilisation at the COEs, creating a budget and tertiary education improvement programme for COE expansion project.
Collaboration
Prof. Jinapor reminded the Council Members to see G-TEC as their collaborator in the course of their operations and not their rival since they were both working towards getting the right results for the transformation of the nation through education.
He stated that plans are underway to control the running of distance courses, especially those that operate in churches, Junior High and Senior High Schools because they do not render quality teaching and learning, as they do not have the requisite infrastructure and tutors.
Prof. Jinapor was upbeat that the various measures being put in place by the G-TEC were not to sanction any institution but to sanitise the tertiary education space in the country to ensure that graduates get the best training for the job market.
Rev. Dr. Joseph Nkyi Asamoah, Vice President, Conference of Principals of College of Education (PRINCOF), lauded G-TEC and T-TEL for the training which would go a long way towards enhancing the cordiality between the Council Members and management of the Colleges.
He appealed to all stakeholders to do their best to ensure that the nation’s education becomes the first port of call in Africa due to its quality and relevance to the needs of the country and the rest of the world.