REVIEW POLICY ON STUDENT INTAKE TO TRAINING INSTITUTIONS (PAGE 11)

THE Principal of the Saint John Bosco’s College of Education, Mr Alfred Abugre Ndego, has appealed to the government to review the policy on student intake to training institutions as the current policy limits the number that can be admitted.
He said the irony of such a policy in the face of inadequate teachers in the system, was that over 24,000 classrooms in Ghana had no teachers, while the situation in the three northern regions was worse. Every year, he noted, heads of teacher training colleges had a painful experience of turning away candidates who qualified but could not be admitted to train as teachers because each college was restricted to a quota which they had to comply with.
Speaking at the fourth matriculation ceremony to formally admit fresh teacher trainees to the college, Mr Ndego said out of the 1,200 applications received from prospective candidates wanting to be trained as teachers, the number was reduced to 280 after careful scrutiny.
But, according to Mr Ndego, the Saint John Bosco’s College like other northern colleges of education, had the potential to admit more than the 280 quota adopted and, therefore, proposed an amendment to the policy.
Touching on other issues confronting the colleges, Mr Ndego noted that gender parity for colleges of education would remain a mirage unless conscious efforts were made to enhance girls’ education in Ghana especially in the northern part of the country.
He made a passionate appeal to the government to invest more resources in basic and senior high schools for the teaching of Science, Mathematics and Technical Skills.
Mr Ndego also proposed that science colleges, in particular, should be given concession to mount special bridging courses for candidates who obtain minimal grades in Science, Mathematics, Technical Skills and English language. That, he explained, would prepare the candidates to get the required standards for admission to the colleges.
He reminded the newly admitted students that discipline was the trump card for all the numerous successes the college had chalked up in the past and therefore urged them to effectively apply themselves to the rules and regulations of the college to ensure order and a peaceful environment for sound academic and professional work.
Mr Ndego said some of the greatest challenges facing the college was the lack of water supply, massive encroachment on the college lands and the lack of accommodation for the 52-member teaching staff and appealed to the government to come to its aid.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, noted that the teacher was central to every educational reform process and teacher education and satisfaction should therefore be of utmost concern to policy makers, education providers and all stakeholders in education.
He said the government of the NDC was committed to making the teaching profession very lucrative to attract professionals in other fields and students into the teaching field.
Mr Woyongo said in pursuit of this agenda, the government would improve the general conditions of teachers through the payment of competitive salaries, provision of decent accommodation, enhanced retirement benefits and the payment of hardship allowances to teachers in deprived areas in the country.
He assured the authorities of the college that the numerous challenges of the college would be addressed to make teaching and learning very effective.