Lecturer worried about quality of teacher trainees

A survey conducted by the University of Education, Winneba has revealed that about 61% of teachers in the Colleges of Education across the country do not have the required capacity to teach in tertiary institutions.

According to the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Mawutor Avoke, the situation does not augur well for the academic development of tertiary students, and should, therefore, be checked.

It is in this regard that the University of Education, Winneba has designed a comprehensive mentorship programme to build the capacities of teachers in the various Colleges of Education to further enhance the knowledge and competencies of graduates from both public and private tertiary institutions across the country.

Professor Avoke was speaking at the 20th congregation of the University of Education, Winneba, College of Technology Education in Kumasi.

In all, over 5,000 students who pursued various programmes by distance education through the university’s Institute of Educational Development and Extension graduated.

Eight hundred and eighteen students out of the number, however, graduated from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training programmes of the university.

The Vice-Chancellor further disclosed that the university had instituted two key funding schemes; namely, the UEW Research, Innovation and Staff Development Fund, and the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship Fund for Brilliant but Needy Students. These schemes, according to him, also formed part of the university’s strategic measures to promote research.

This has made the university one of the best teacher education institutions in Africa and beyond.

He also mentioned the construction of a 3,000-seater congregation hall, a library and various workshop blocks with funding from the African Development Bank and the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training as some infrastructural development projects being executed on the Kumasi campus.

The chairman of the University Governing Council, Dr Emmanuel Kenneth Andoh, also noted that the university was worried about the increasing numbers of unemployed graduates in the country.

To this end, he indicated that the university had initiated technical programmes and short courses which require students to undergo some form of entrepreneurial training to enable them explore employable opportunities after school.