General News of Thursday, 25 August 2011

Source: GNA

Ghana and USA expand bilateral ties in education

Accra, Aug. 25, GNA – Ghana and the US have expanded ties in the field of educational exchange partnership aimed at offering students and lecturers the opportunity to deepen their cross-culture knowledge.

The education exchange partnership seeks to open up opportunities for students and lecturers to have direct link through education visitation, sharing of faculty information and student networking.

Ghana is represented on the education exchange partnership programme by Meridian Pre-University (MPU) whilst the USA is represented by the University Of Washington School Of Social Work.

Speaking to Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday at the end of a month’s education visit by students and lecturers from Washington School of Social Work, Dr Margret Stearman, team leader, stressed the need to promote social and economic justice for the poor and oppressed populations.

She said visitation sought to promote education of effective social work leaders, practitioners and educators who will challenge injustice and promote a more humane society and whose actions will be guided by vision, compassion, knowledge and disciplined discovery, and deep respect for cultural diversity and human strengths both in Ghana and USA.

Dr Stearman noted that the team’s visit had helped them to understand complex social problems.

“We embrace our position of leadership in the field of social work and join in partnership with others in society committed to solving human problems in the 21st century,” she stated.

Mr Tetteh Nettey, President of Meridian Pre-University, noted that the education exchange partnership affirmed the institute’s academic board’s aims of providing universal education to prepare students to face and solve global challenges.

He said education parameters must go beyond the local environment or country level with meaningful impact based on direct partnership within the global academic field.

He said students and lecturers of the two institutions used the month’s programme to exchange academic notes, visit historical monuments, expose each other to cultural diversities and establish grounds for academic networking.

Mr Nettey said the international link-up would enhance the institute’s aim to work to empower individuals and communities to find and address real world problems with real world solutions.