The Minister for Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh on Tuesday, 2nd June 2020 met with officials from the Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast led Prof. Christine Adu–Yeboah, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) led by Mr. Thomas Musah, Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T–TEL) led by Mr. Robin Todd and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) led by Prof. Mohammed Salifu. Other officials at the meeting included Prof. Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State in–charge of Tertiary Education, Chief Director at the Ministry of Education among other high ranking officials of the Ministry of Education.
The meeting was aimed at discussing issues of a transition from the DBE to B.Ed. for student teachers completing with Diploma in Basic Education and in-service teachers with Diploma in Basic Education. The one-year top-up course is expected to take a duration of about 15 months using blended learning leading to the award of B.Ed. in various options. The main areas of specialization are Early Grade, Primary Education, and Junior High School Education.
All things being equal and per the final approval by the National Accreditation Board, the 15 months programme is likely to kick start in October 2020.
The purpose of the top-up course is to provide a grounding in the new approaches which are being introduced in the Ghanaian education system to ensure competence against the National Teaching Standards and improved outcomes for student teachers and the pupils they will teach. The course is also to ensure all teachers have degrees and achieve greater parity across the system.
The Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast has developed the course and currently undergoing the necessary accreditation process. Other universities are expected to do the same.
Source: News Desk, Colleges of Education Weekly Journal.
