THE Director of the Institute of Education of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. James Adu Opare, has called on the government and stakeholders to improve the conditions of service of teachers in order to make the teaching profession more attractive.
That, he said, would enable the various colleges of education in the country to attract “quality students who qualify to be trained to become teachers”.
“Since teaching is no longer attractive, few students are motivated to enter the colleges of education to train to become teachers,” he stated.
In a speech read on his behalf at the second graduation ceremony of the Kyebi Presbyterian College of Education at Kyebi on Saturday, Prof. Opare said, “It is up to the state to improve the conditions of service of teachers if it wants to attract able and committed candidates to enter the colleges of education.”
One hundred and forty five students graduated during the ceremony, which was on the theme, “Transition to tertiary status: Prospects and challenges”.
The director said it was on record that getting the right number of candidates who met the requirements to enter the colleges of education had been a headache for the heads of those institutions.
Speaking on the topic, “Challenges facing the elevation of teacher training colleges into tertiary status”, Prof. Opare said, “There cannot be quality education without teachers of good quality. Similarly, there cannot be teachers of good quality unless we have teacher education of good quality.”
On other challenges, he said with the elevation of teacher training colleges to colleges of education, the practice of students being made to behave in certain ways and doing things such as taking exeats for permission to leave campus, going to bed at stipulated times, weeding the school campus and carrying water to the kitchen must be given a second thought.
“If this culture runs into the tertiary era, students are likely to rebel and this may undermine discipline,” he said.
He, however, cautioned the students of the colleges not to enjoy their newly found freedom in an irresponsible way.
On staffing, he said at present none of the colleges had the optimum number of qualified staff to teach, adding that it would take time to train or recruit enough qualified staff to teach in the colleges.
With regard to infrastructure, Prof. Opare said the colleges had basic infrastructure such as classrooms and offices that only needed to be refurbished.
“However, not all the facilities are suitable for tertiary institutions, as furniture in most of the colleges is suitable for secondary school students, while science laboratories are incomplete and others lack computers for ICT training and office work,” he added.
The director also identified career progression of the teaching staff of the colleges as another challenge, saying, “When the colleges fully attain tertiary status, we expect that promotions or career progression will be determined by quality of research and publications.”
“Unless the colleges get well-equipped libraries with Internet facilities, as well as the requisite books, the tutors cannot work towards promotion, as limited opportunities for research and promotion will naturally be a source of frustration for them,” he added.
On financial management, Prof. Opare said at present some of the bursars in the colleges did not possess the right qualifications and experience to handle their financial affairs and “to go the extra mile to advise the heads of institutions, a situation that must be considered critically”.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said since financing the educational enterprise was quite expensive, the government would, as a matter of priority, ensure that the necessary funds were released to support all the colleges of education.
In his welcoming address, the Principal of the Kyebi Presbyterian College of Education, Rev. E.Y. Omenako, identified the lack of highly trained personnel for the development of the colleges as fully fledged tertiary institutions as one of the major challenges facing the colleges.
“I, therefore, urge the government to pay attention to this critical manpower requirement without delay,” he pleaded.
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