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Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Education Minister, Friday inaugurated the Governing Council of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) College of Education at Asokore, Koforidua, with a charge to provide visionary leadership to transform the institution into an autonomous university college.
The 12-member Council is chaired by Pastor T.T. Ocran, the Head of the SDA Church in South Ghana.
The members include Professor Vincent Adzahlie-Mensah, Dr Gifty Selwan Nyarko, Mr Lawrence Antwi Kwakye, Ms Ivy Asantewaa Owusu, Mr Aaron Tetteh Korda, and Dr Evelyn Owusu Oduro.
The others are Mr Thomas Amardi, Prof. Samuel Ofori Obuobisah Bekoe, Nana Charles Sifa Twum, Dr Clara Araba Mills, Ms Pascalaine Kuunmingla Songsore, and Mr Augustine Terkper Nartey.
Swearing the Coucil members in at the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) in Accra, Mr Iddrisu commended the SDA Church for its historic role in Ghana’s education sector.
“The Church has made a profound impact on education provision from pre-independence to post-independence and has remained a reliable, dependable partner of the State,” he said.
The Minister reaffirmed government’s commitment to strengthening teacher education through strategic investments in infrastructure, faculty development, and welfare.
More than GH¢410 million, he disclosed, had been released this year to complete stalled hostel projects across the 46 Colleges of Education, while GH¢200 million had been allocated for faculty development, staff support, and student feeding.
He announced that Book and Research Allowances for the colleges had been increased from GH¢31 million in 2023 to GH¢101 million this year, with total allocations to the tertiary sector rising from GH¢428 million to GH¢712 million.
Additionally, the Government had fully migrated faculty and staff of all 46 Colleges of Education to university status, settling arrears from the enhanced remuneration scheme introduced in January 2023.
Mr Iddrisu stressed government’s long-term vision of transforming all public colleges of education into autonomous university colleges capable of running diverse academic programmes.
“I do not see why someone should travel from Pusiga to Legon to study Psychology when, with the right support, Gbewaa College could offer such a programme,” he observed.
The Minister urged the colleges to establish affiliate partnerships with universities to broaden their scope beyond teacher education.
Pastor Ocran, on behalf of the Council, pledged members’ commitment to advancing the College’s mission and appealed to the Minister to honour his promises to enable the Council to achieve its objectives.
“We promise our dedication and commitment to the work for which you have appointed us,” he assured.
Source: myghanadaily
