Dr. Emmanuel Nyamekye
THE Principal of Akrokerri College of Education, Dr. Emmanuel Nyamekye says teacher education must keep pace with the complexity and challenge of modern times in order for the nation to flourish.
According to him, traditional teaching approaches are generally teacher-directed and follow cookbook steps of activities and demonstrations, which he believes, may not provide students with valuable skills or even with a body of knowledge that lasts much beyond the end of the term.
Speaking at the launching of Akrokerri College of Education’s Challenge Fund, Dr. Nyamekye noted that strategies such as active, cooperative, collaborative and problem-based learning, with effective utilisation of teaching and learning materials should be utilized so as to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom.
The College Principal explained that the Challenge Fund was a component of the Ministry of Education’s Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) programme to support the reform and improvement of the country’s teacher education sector.
He disclosed that his institution, which sent a proposal on the preparation of teaching and learning materials, had been provided with a grant of GH?60,260 for a period of one year to “correct long-standing weakness in teaching by our student teachers, especially of technical subjects.”
He added that the fund came out of £17 million provided by the Department of International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, which is partnering the Ministry of Education, to help improve the quality of teacher training in Ghana.
According to him, the T-TEL programme has seven core activity areas to improve the standard of teacher education at all the public Colleges of Education in the country.
These, Dr. Nyamekye submitted, included the provision of professional development to some tutors of the Colleges, helping student teachers achieve highest standards, delivering leadership development to Colleges of Education management, among others.
For the renowned educationist, equipment for effective teaching and learning in Colleges of Education, without doubt, needs improvement if the colleges were to live up to their designation as tertiary institutions.
“Once again, as a result of these lapses, it is the trainee teacher who will eventually come out school ill-prepared for the task ahead of him or her,” he submitted.
He was hopeful the fund would help the college create the enabling environment by using teaching and learning resources for direct instruction, and for collaborative and creative learning.
The Adansi North District Director of Education, Paul Antwi Oppong, who chaired the function, lauded the management of the college for the effort in helping improve on standard of education and teacher training.
He bemoaned the falling standards of education in the country after he had revealed that many pupils and students in basic schools fell below average in Mathematics and English in the Ghana Education Service exercise conducted recently.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Akrokerri-Ash