Hohoe (V/R), March 1, GNA – Dr Eric Nkansah, Technical Advisor and Director in charge of Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education, has underscored the need to invest in the country’s education to achieve economic prosperity.
He noted that the link between education and socio-economic transformation of countries was well documented and studies suggested a strong positive correlation between education and the economy of any country.
Dr Nkansah, speaking at 13th and 14th Congregation of the St Francis College of Education (FRANCO) in Hohoe and the investiture of the College Principal, said the Akufo-Addo led government had over the last five years invested heavily in the education sector.
“The Ministry of Education is working hard to reposition our educational system to churn out a critical mass of assertive, employable, and empowered Ghanaians to spur up the socio-economic transformation of our dear nation.”
Dr Nkansah said studies showed that children who grew up under the constant influence of the internet and ICT tools had significant differences in attention capacity, memory processes and social cognition when compared to children unexposed to the internet and ICT tools.
“It is therefore a natural expectation that today’s teacher will be well-grounded in the use of the internet and ICT to be able to impart to learners,” he added.
Dr Nkansah said government’s “one-teacher-one-laptop” distribution programme was meant to support the teachers to sharpen their ICT skills, adding that the laptops were pre-installed instructional resources to make lesson content preparation easier.
“This programme demonstrates the government’s commitment to closing the ICT gap in education, and I am certain that we will see more innovative solutions in the future. The Colleges of Education, as the institutions that prepare teachers, should also endeavour to integrate ICT skills in the training of the student teachers.”
Dr Ahmed Jinapor Abdullai, Deputy Director General, Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), said the Commission was not oblivious of the state of condition of service of staff and faculty of Colleges of Education in the country.
Dr Adwoa Kwegyiriba, Principal of the College, said the College would become a preferred an attractive choice of neighbouring Francophone countries to have access to quality teacher education with regard to learning English Language if positioned internationally.
She said there was the need for the College to be allowed to incorporate various certificate programmes and special weekend courses to allow people who could not access the four-year programme.
The ceremony was on the theme: “Inculcating 21st Century Skills into Teacher Education: The Role of the Colleges of Education.”
GNA