Dr Kwegyiriba invested as principal of St Francis College

Dr Adwoa Kwegyiriba, on Saturday, February 27, 2022, made history as the first female Principal of the St Francis College of Education (FRANCO) at Hohoe in the Volta Region in its 91 years of existence.

Until her investiture as the substantive Principal, Dr Kwegyiriba took over the administration of the college on December 1, 2021.

Experience

With 26 years of experience in the education field, including 15 years of experience in the field of higher education under her sleeves, Dr Kwegyiriba worked in different capacities in various educational institutions including the Women in Technical Education as the National Director of Research, and in different capacities at the Takoradi Technical University.

With a PhD in Economics and Management of Education from the University of Science and Technology Graduate School, Wuhan China, Dr Kwegyiriba, as a researcher, authored 46 publications in peer-reviewed journals in the areas of logistics and transport and higher education management, quality access and financing.

Established in 1908 by the German VSD Missionaries and transformed into a training college in January 1931, the institution is the second oldest college among the 46 colleges in the country.

In her inaugural address, Dr Kwegyiriba said the college had been consistent in academic excellence in training teachers of repute and impeccable professional credentials.

She, however, spelt out various transformational agenda as she takes over the reins of administration.

"I would ensure that we retain and improve our focus on inculcating in students, the requisite academic abilities, professional competence and moral values for teaching".

She noted that while practices in the teaching field evolved, its pace has been hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic along with its challenges which called for transformation of institutional foundations.

Reforms

"Teacher education needs reforms to survive in this era."

Dr Kwegyiriba thus indicated that her vision was to position FRANCO as a competitive teacher education institution committed to advancing the delivery of high quality teacher education in support of sustainable national and global development.

That, she pointed out, would be achieved through transformative leadership abilities and active stakeholder engagement, high quality education research, motivated human resources, international and national collaborations, infrastructural development, healthcare services and enhanced Internet connectivity and security.

Education partnerships

She espoused the need for the internationalisation of education which has become a prominent factor in running higher education.

Already her administration and management of the institute have been able to deploy three students on a three-month study programme in Belgium with four teachers awaiting similar deployment on the programme through a partnership with the St Thomas Moore College in that country.

Dr Kwegyiriba said FRANCO would in a similar fashion open up opportunities for foreign teacher trainee students to study English Language in a bid to better the finances of the college.

In a congratulatory message, the Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Dr Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, commended the new principal on her sense of innovation and assured her of GTEC's commitment and support in her endeavour.

Management

In another congratulatory message by the management of Franco, it said Dr Kwegyiriba's role as principal of the college was deemed important not only in shaping the future direction of the college but to draw attention to the role that it played within the development of teacher education in Ghana.

The management reposed confidence in the new principal to inspire and lead the college to new heights of sustained success and achievement while pledging to work with her in achieving her vision and direction for the college's future.