Colleges of Education to become autonomous - Revised legislation soon before Cabinet
The government will position public colleges of education as autonomous university colleges.
Their new status will become effective when a revised legislation, yet to be presented to the cabinet, is transmitted to Parliament for passage.
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, who announced this in Accra yesterday, explained that the new status would enable the colleges to develop undergraduate programmes in other areas aside from their core mandate of education training.
The minister made this known when he swore in the governing councils of 10 public colleges of education.
The colleges include Akatsi College of Education, Dambai College of Education, St Francis College of Education, and Fosu College of Education.
Others are Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) College of Education, Holy Child College of Education, and the Kibi College of Education.
The rest are the Presbyterian Women’s College of Education, Seventh-day Adventist College of Education, Asokore-Koforidua, and St Louis College of Education.
Rationale
Defending the autonomous status of colleges of education as university colleges, Mr Iddrisu said, “I do not see why someone should travel from Pusiga or Lambussie to Legon to come and study Psychology, when the same course can be offered at Gbewaa College of Education.
It should be possible,” he explained.
However, Mr Iddrisu added that the faculty needed to be strengthened.
He admitted that many of the infrastructural projects in the colleges of education had stalled, and he had made a strong case for the allocation of enough resources to the ministry to support the colleges in completing such stalled projects.
“So, accordingly, GTEC this year is putting aside GH¢410 million for the completion of those stalled projects,” the minister announced.
Feeding students
“In addition to funding for faculty and staff development, I am told that there is about some GH¢200 million, which will deal with the feeding of students,” the minister pointed out.
Mr Iddrisu, however, made his position clear, saying, “I think that we should have a national conversation.
We cannot elevate and upgrade you into university colleges and still have the issue of feeding students.
“The other day I said it, however unpopular it may be, I take responsibility for every policy decision that I take on behalf of government. If you are a university, you are a university.
And if you are elevated into university, we will not breastfeed you,” the minister stressed.
Absorption of new colleges
Mr Iddrisu stated that the ministry had received a policy approval for the absorption of three additional colleges of education.
They are the Savannah College of Education, Ghana Muslim Mission College of Education, and the Christ the Teacher College of Education.
The Education Minister tasked the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to ensure that the institutions satisfied the minimum standards required of them to function as colleges of education.
Book, research allowance
On Book and Research Allowance, Mr Iddrisu announced that the government had operationalised the National Research Fund.
He said the government spent GH¢31 million last year on Book and Research Allowance for the 46 colleges of education, adding that this year, the government would need GH¢101 million to honour it.
“We will honour it. But I just want you to know what financial burden and weight it comes with.
For the entire tertiary education space, last year we spent GH¢428 million.
“This year, we are looking at GH¢712 million on Book and Research Allowance.
This is only for the Book and Research Allowance.
No salary,” the minister explained.
He said those statistics were to let them appreciate that the government was doing its best for them in order that “you will be motivated to give your best in the training of our young people.”
Touching on the ‘No fee stress’ policy, he said that since becoming minister, the policy had been one of the most impactful interventions of the President, stressing the need for all to work to sustain it.
“It does tell us as a country that there are parents who are struggling and there are students who are struggling and do not have the financial muscle to support themselves to have access to higher education,” the minister said.
Mr Iddrisu proposed that the country could dedicate 2.5 per cent of the petroleum revenue for human capital development.
“Then in future, we can have a scholarship and bursary authority.
Then this budget of GH¢400 million, GH¢500 million will be cushioned by the 2.5 per cent oil revenue.
“Then the state has what it can rely on to finance No fee stress and also finance scholarship,” he explained.
Mr Iddrisu thanked the council members for accepting to serve the country and to support President John Dramani Mahama's reset agenda.
He said the President desired that every region in the country would have a public university of its own.
Gratitude
The Kumasi Metropolitan Archbishop, who is also the Chairman of the St Louis Governing Council, Most Rev. Gabriel Justice Anokye, invited all to support the government in all aspects of the policy.
He expressed gratitude to the President through the Minister of Education for the opportunity to serve the country, and prayed that as council members, “we do that holistically, instilling in the students the fear of God and not only academics.”
