Educational achievements must impact on society— Prof. Obosu-Mensah
The St Francis College of Education (FRANCO) at Hohoe in the Volta Region has conferred Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) on 448 graduating students of the college at its 12th congregation.
It was on the theme: "Essential elements of quality teacher education in Ghana: The role of stakeholders".
Impact on society
Fourteen of the graduates had first class, with 157 second class upper division, while 162 had second class lower division. Third class graduates numbered 77, with 38 passes.
Addressing the congregation, a Professor of Sociology at the Lorain County Community College in the USA, Prof. Kwaku Obosu-Mensah, said educational achievements were meaningless if society did not feel their impact.
He, therefore, called on graduates to let their educational achievements impact the lives of the people in society.
Prof. Obosu-Mensah likened the urgent need for graduates to start addressing issues and problems in society to how people meted out instance justice to suspected criminals.
Performance
In his address, the Principal of the college, Mr Raphel Kodzo Kwashie, said this year's congregation recorded the highest number of first class students in the history of the college.
He said the sacrifices and hard work of staff and management of the college were what resulted in the improvement in the academic performance and discipline among the students.
Projects
Touching on some of the projects carried out by the management, the principal said the fence wall of the college was extended by 310 metres.
He said the auditorium of the college had also been secured with burglar proof metal protection, while the lecture halls had been converted into departmental offices for Heads of Department (HODs) of the college.
Those, he said, were all done with the college's internally generated funds (IGF).
Mr Kwashie, however, mentioned that the college faced financial challenges, and that due to inadequate funds, the college engaged students to do grounds work instead of hiring labourers.
Master Obed Odoom was adjudged the Overall Best Graduating Student.