The Deputy Director General for the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), 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 therefore 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 3-day training for the Sunyani zone of the Governing Councils of Colleges of Education in Sunyani.

The training organized by the GTEC 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, Wiaso College of Education, Brekum College of Education and Bia Lamplighter College of education.

Presentations were made on the establishment of the GTEC-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 harmonized documents of the COEs, Quality Assurance management practices at the COE, Financial management resource mobilization at the COE’s, creating a budget and tertiary education improvement programme for COE expansion project.
Collaboration

Prof. Jinapor reminded the Council Members to see GTEC 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 GTEC were not to sanction any institution but to sanitize 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 GTEC 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.

Background

The relationship between Governing Councils and Principals of Colleges of Education and other management staff which is supposed to be that of cordiality at all times sometimes looks different as some see the other as enemies due to lack of understanding of the roles and responsibilities of one another.

The training seeks to help throw more light on the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders towards the attainment of the right results for the Colleges and the nation as a whole.

Credit: Isaac Amoah of the New Trust Newspaper