Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh – Minister of Education
A total of 46 public Colleges of Education will from October 2019 collaborate with five public universities in Ghana to roll out the Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) programme, which was approved by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) in July last year.
The institutions include University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast, University of Education, Winneba, and University for Development Studies.
Prior to the approval, a National Teachers’ Standards (NTS) and National Teacher Education Curriculum Framework (NTECF) were produced and approved by Cabinet.
A statement issued by the University of Ghana said the B. Ed programme is the cumulative work undertaken by Ghanaian educators. It noted that all basic school teachers would have to study and attain a B. Ed. degree aligned with the NTECF and delivered by the 46 Colleges of Education in Ghana through their affiliate public universities.
According to the statement, the affiliations have been selected carefully to ensure that each College of Education receives relevant mentoring and maximum benefit from the relationship.
It added that the curriculum had been developed to employ interactive, inclusive and innovative teaching and learning techniques while introducing changes in the overall assessment of pre-service teachers.
The new B. Ed. programme has three specialism – the B. Ed Early Grade Teacher Education, B. Ed Upper Primary Teacher Education and the B. Ed JHS Teacher Education programmes, with the latter having specialist subject areas.
The new B. Ed curriculum is expected to improve learning outcomes and ensure children are motivated to be life-long learners beyond their time in school.
Orientation Workshop
Meanwhile, a two-day orientation workshop has been organised for communicators from the five participating public universities to explore ways to support the roadmap for the delivery of the B. Ed. programme and to address emerging communication issues.
Among the facilitators were Robin Todd, Prof Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, Akwasi Addae-Boahene, Dr. Eric Ananga, Ms Dinah Adiko and Enock Gyan.
BY Melvin Tarlue