The government has released an amount of GH¢241,913,000 for the payment of teacher trainee allowance across the country.
It is also releasing GH¢32,496,064 for the payment of book and research allowance to eligible senior members of public tertiary education institutions including Colleges of Education for the 2022/2023 academic year.
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister for Education announced this in a speech read on his behalf at the ninth congregation of the Tamale College of Education on Saturday.
A total of 473 students, who duly satisfied the requirement for award of degrees in the Bachelor of Education in Junior High School Education Programme being the first cohort of the four-year bachelor’s in Education Programme at the College, graduated.
Out of the figure, seven graduands had first class, 242 had Second Class Upper, 188 had Second Class Lower, 34 achieved Third Class, and two achieved Pass.
Dr Adutwum also announced that, “Government is working tirelessly to convert some Colleges of Education to full-fledged Universities.”
He touched on infrastructure projects at the Colleges of Education saying, “I would like to reassure you that the 300-bed capacity hostel projects in 46 Colleges of Education are progressing despite some initial setbacks.”
He said the government was fully committed to prioritising the Colleges of Education to become a center of excellence for teacher education.
He reminded stakeholders that “We have a responsibility to engage in constructive and genuine consultations with one another to implement policies and projects that would not only resolve the many challenges we face but would also lay a strong foundation for running the Colleges sustainably in future.”
Dr Alhaji Sulemana Iddrisu, Principal of Tamale College of Education, announced that in the light of the College’s growth agenda, it would from the 2025 academic year introduce new programmes such as Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood, Bachelor of Education in Arabic, and some more electives such as French.
Dr Alhaji Iddrisu said “Discussions are underway with our affiliate university, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and Ghana Tertiary Education Commission to kick-start the process.”
He announced that the College was on the verge of completing registration processes to be registered as a service provider under the National Teaching Council’s Continuous Professional Development for teachers.
He appealed to Regional, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Education “To support this project in our quest to support our in-service teachers with continuous professional development training, which will go a long way to improve the learning outcomes of our learners.”
He told the graduands that, “I would like to assure you that the four-year bachelor’s in education Programme that you have completed has equipped you with the necessary skills and competencies to be the game changers in our schools. Please, be a part of a conduit through which the problems in our society will be resolved.”
Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, whose speech was read on his behalf, advised the graduands “To serve as ambassadors of peace where we find ourselves as youth, violence is slowly becoming a norm in our societies. In this way, we will be able to save precious lives and safeguard our future.”
