St. Teresa College of Education graduates first batch of 4-year B.Ed programme teachers
The St. Teresa’s College of Education (TERESCO) at Hohoe in the Volta Region has held its 14th Annual Congregation for its first batch of the four (4)-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) students at a colourful ceremony at Hohoe.
TERESCO, an all-female teacher training institution, was established on 1st November, 1961. It is one of the most performing Colleges of Education among the forty-six (46) public teacher training schools across the country.
The congregation saw the 2022 batch of students graduating with first degrees specialties in Early Childhood Education, Primary Education as well as Junior High School Education with Home Economics as an option.
The event which was under the theme, ‘Social Emotional Learning: An Essential Skill for the 21st Century Teacher’, brought together a lot of stakeholders and dignitaries from all walks of life including parents and guardians of the graduands.
The Vice Dean of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Cape Coast, Professor Mawuloe Kofi Kodah conferred the degrees on the graduands on behalf of the Vice Chancellor after the Acting Principal of the College, Mr. S. Bruce Kpeglo presented the graduands for the conferment event.
Out of the Two Hundred and Thirty (230) graduands who passed out from the College, seventy-two (72) pursued the Early Childhood education programme, one hundred and twenty (120) students did the Primary programme while thirty-eight (38) undertook the BEd Junior High School (JHS) programme with the Home Economics option.
Out of the number, one hundred and twenty-one (121) graduands obtained 2nd Class Upper Division while seventy-seven (77) graduands obtained 2nd Class Lower Division whereas Twenty-One (21) graduands obtained a Third Class with only one (1) student obtaining a Pass.
The ten (10) graduands who had the first class honours were Ms. Christine Duphey, Kelisa Awah, Mary Narh, and Ophelia Essel. The others were Jemima Ahiagbenyo, Jennifer Agyekum, and Priscilla Makafui Akatsi. The rest were Forgive Emefa Agama, Joanette Deladem Fornyikpor as well as Victoria Salton Asmah.
The college honoured the teaching and non-teaching staff as well as students who distinguished themselves in their careers and academic performance.
The recipients of the awards included the overall best-graduating student, Ms. Christine Duphey who, apart from her special award, also received a laptop computer under the Akwasi Addae Excellence Award for the Best Graduating Student, introduced in 2021 by Mr. Akwasi Addae, Key Technical Advisor, Transforming Teaching, Education and Learning (T-TEL).
The Principal of the College, Madam Sophia Adjoa Micah noted that the College was an enviable one among the comity of the Colleges of Education in the country. According to her, ten (10) out of the Two Hundred and Thirty (230) graduating students, being the first batch of graduands to pursue the BEd programme, recorded ten (10) first class honours, comprising four (4) from the Primary Education programme, three (3) from the Junior High School (JHS) programme and three (3) from the Early Childhood Education course.
Further, the Principal described the performance as impressive and encouraging, adding that it served as a great inspiration not only to students but also to the staff who continued to be dedicated, hardworking, and always eagerly sought to achieve the vision and mission of the College.
Madam Micah disclosed that the College has had partnerships with some educational organizations and institutions notable among them being Pencils of Promise (POP) and Right To Play, explaining that such partnerships had inured to the benefit of the College.
According to her, POP had been organizing training sessions in learner-centered methods of teaching for both staff and students. A recent collaboration with POP also led to the construction of a washroom for the St. Teresa’s Demonstration Kindergarten (KG) as well as the Early Childhood Department of the College.
The Principal lauded the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Hon. John Peter Amewu for the recent donation of some medical equipment and supplies for the College’s infirmary. She also thanked the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Hohoe, Hon. Noble Daniel Awume for honouring his promise during the 60th anniversary of the College, to donate one hundred (100) bags of cement towards the construction of the College’s wall.
Madam Micah mentioned a lack of staff due to financial clearance issues, poor Home Economics block and its associated lack of equipment and tools as well as the lack of a Science Laboratory for the students as some of the major challenges facing the College.
Country Director and Global Director of Programmes of Pencils of Promise (POP), Mr. Freeman Gobah was the Guest Speaker. According to him, the role of the teacher in delivering quality education to the child in the 21st century cannot be over-emphasized.
He reiterated the fact that education was an emotional, stressful enterprise, emphasizing that for the teacher to be very effective in the classroom, he or she needed to take care of his or her personal needs. In Mr. Gobah’s view, the teacher, by doing that, would be able to take good decisions and also be responsible to his or her community and the school environment as well.
The POP Country Director was happy that the new curriculum highlighted some aspects of these emotional skill lessons, saying that teachers in the 21st century did not only need to acquire knowledge in literacy and numeracy but also skills that would enable them to relate to others and their communities in addition to taking good decisions at any point.
Mr. Gobah announced that his organization had since 2016, implemented social-emotional learning in about ninety (90) schools in the Volta, Oti, and Eastern regions.
He pointed out that based on these successes chalked in implementing these programmes, POP had brought on board four (4) Colleges of Education to benefit from the programme. The Colleges were St. TERESCO at Hohoe, E.P. College at Amedzofe, and Jasikan College, all in Volta as well as Mt. Mary at Somanya in the Eastern region.
Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area, Togbega Gabusu VII, who was the Guest of Honour, reminded the graduands of their expectations as they moved into their world of work.
He noted that the theme of the occasion was the first step in the lives of the graduands to the long journey of self-discovery, working on their self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skills as well as responsible decision-making and its consequences on ethical leaders in nurturing the lives of children who would be entrusted into their hands.
Togbega Gabusu VII was particularly happy to see the joy in the faces of the graduands which, according to him, was an indication that they were poised to offer their skills learnt at the College in various communities they would be posted, to serve.
The Gbi State Overlord disclosed that the Gbi Traditional Council would liaise with the Management of TERESCO and the St. Francis College of Education (FRANCO) to adopt and annually sponsor some of the awards of the two Hohoe-based Colleges of Education.
The MP for Hohoe and Minister for Railway Development, Hon. John Peter Amewu reminded the graduands to use their skills and knowledge acquired from the College to positively impact their learners, themselves, and the society at large. He lauded the graduands on their achievements and encouraged them to learn from their mistakes and experiences, saying these would guide them, moving into the future.
‘You are entering another environment, full of challenges. It is my prayer and hope that your previous experiences you had acquired here, should guide you from stage to stage’, Mr. Amewu emphasized.
The Director in charge of Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education (MOE), Professor Yayra Yao Dzakadzi, who represented the Minister for Education and MP for Bosomtwi in Ashanti, Hon. Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, noted that the government’s objective was to continue to offer the most desirable environment possible for the Colleges of Education to effectively thrive in their studies.
He disclosed that as part of efforts to expand infrastructure at the Colleges of Education, the government had initiated a three hundred (300)-bed capacity hostel project in each of the forty-six (46) Colleges of Education across the country with the coming into force of the four (4) year BEd programme.
Professor Dzakadzi noted that despite the initial setbacks as far as the project was concerned, many of these projects had reached various stages of completion. He was confident that the Minister of Education would commission a few of these hostel projects in some of the Colleges of Education by the end of the year.
Touching on the ten (10) First Class Honours TERESCO recorded in the BEd programme, the Director of Tertiary Education at the MOE said he was not only excited but also felt better that a lot was happening in the College which many people were not aware of.
Professor Dzakadzi lauded the efforts of the Management and Staff of TERESCO for training their students not only for academic knowledge but also versatile and holistic in all aspects of their career.
Describing the drumming and dancing talents of the students and the euphoria around such laudable performances as something to behold, Professor Dzakadzi said he was optimistic that, going into the future, TERESCO would become one of the best Colleges of Education in the country, if not the overall best.
In her valedictory address, the Overall Best Graduating Student, Ms. Christine Duphey congratulated her fellow graduands for their modest achievement and described their four (4) year journey as revealing and eventful.
She was therefore grateful to the Management and Staff of the College for their support and encouragement not forgetting their parents and guardians for the great impact they had equally made on their lives. Ms. Duphey urged her colleague graduands to aspire higher not only in the academic space but also in other relevant aspects of their life.
In an address in honour of the graduands, the Key Technical Advisor of T-TEL, Mr. Akwasi Addae reminded the graduands to share ideas and knowledge. According to him, this move would even require them to collaborate with their colleagues to also learn from their learners.
Mr. Addae urged the graduands to continuously improve on their professional knowledge and understanding of their function as a teacher. The Key Technical Advisor also called on the graduating trainees to positively buy into the culture of the school they would be teaching in.
This, he cautioned would not be to copy all the bad things in the school but instead be the agent of change and also champion the transformation of that society for the benefit of the people.
Rev. Fr. Dr. Casimir Adjoe was the Chairman of the Council of TERESCO. He urged the graduands to inspire their pupils in every way possible. ‘Give them hope; teach them to sort out their future. Teach them the values of self-discipline, self-determination, moral uprightness, and the spirit of patriotism’, the Council Chair admonished the graduands
SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh
