Gbewaa College of Education graduates 334 students
The Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment towards tackling infrastructure challenges in colleges of education across the country.
He emphasised key areas of focus, including addressing infrastructure deficits in tertiary institutions, resolving feeding grant challenges in colleges of education, completing stalled GETFund projects and improving campus road networks.
Congregation
Speaking at the 8th congregation ceremony of the Gbewaa College of Education at Pusiga in the Upper East Region, he indicated that resolving pressing issues in the education sector was central to the government’s resetting agenda policy.
The congregation, during which a total of 334 students were awarded with degrees, was held on the theme, “The role of teacher education in promoting peace and security: A prerequisite for sustainable development”.
As part of the event, the minister inaugurated a six-unit residential flat accommodation for staff and a fence wall to improve security in the school.
He assured the lecturers and management of the college that they would receive their fair share of development as the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) was committed to social justice.
“I have taken notice of the inadequacy in furniture, lecture halls and the stalled 350-bed capacity special hostel facility and wish to assure you that the government's resetting agenda would resolve most of these challenges in the wake of the growing student population,” he said.
Resolution
The minister also acknowledged the impact of the Bawku conflict on the college’s teaching staff and pledged that the government would work tirelessly to enhance security in the region, thereby ensuring a safe environment for both teachers and students.
“As a government, we are working with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the peaceful resolution of the dispute. Let us harness our energies into positive endeavours for the promotion of peace and security as prerequisites for sustainable development,” he said.
He urged the graduating students to become agents of change as they entered the teaching profession and emphasised their role in shaping attitudes and modelling character.
Disruption
The President of the Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF), Prof. Samuel Atintono, who was the guest speaker, noted that the Bawku conflict had significantly disrupted education in Bawku and the Upper East Region.
He revealed that many teachers had fled the Bawku area and some students had been unable to attend school due to the conflict, saying, “the unending conflict continues to have a negative effect in the delivery of quality education at all levels”.
In this regard, he called for the inclusion of conflict management and peacebuilding in the curriculum of Colleges of Education.
According to him, the move would equip teachers with the requisite skills to enable them to manage conflicts and pass on those competencies to their students to foster a culture of peace and security.
Perseverance
Speaking at the ceremony, the Principal of Gbewaa College of Education, Dr Halidu Musah, commended the graduating students for persevering in the midst of challenges such as the UTAG strikes and the prolonged insecurity in Bawku due to the conflict.
Further, he used the occasion to highlight the college’s pressing challenges, including insufficient feeding grants, inadequate staff, stalled GETfund projects and poor road networks on the campus.
Writer’s email; gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh.
