Asokore: Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Education Minister, inaugurated the Governing Council of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) College of Education at Asokore, Koforidua. The Minister charged the Council to provide leadership to transform the institution into an autonomous university college.
According to Ghana News Agency, the 12-member Council is chaired by Pastor T.T. Ocran, the Head of the SDA Church in South Ghana. The Council 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. Other members 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 in the Council members at the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) in Accra, Mr Iddrisu commended the SDA Church for its role in Ghana's education sector. He noted the Church's impact on education provision from pre-independence to post-independence. The Minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to strengthening teacher education through investments in infrastructure, faculty development, and welfare.
Mr Iddrisu disclosed that more than GHS410 million had been released this year to complete stalled hostel projects across the 46 Colleges of Education. Additionally, GHS200 million had been allocated for faculty development, staff support, and student feeding. He announced that Book and Research Allowances for the colleges had increased from GHS31 million in 2023 to GHS101 million this year, with total allocations to the tertiary sector rising from GHS428 million to GHS712 million.
Furthermore, the Government had migrated faculty and staff of all 46 Colleges of Education to university status, settling arrears from the enhanced remuneration scheme introduced in January 2023. While acknowledging budgetary limitations in hiring new staff, the Minister urged the Council to maximise available resources in delivering quality training.
Mr Iddrisu emphasized the government's vision of transforming all public colleges of education into autonomous university colleges. He encouraged the colleges to establish affiliate partnerships with universities to broaden their scope beyond teacher education.
On behalf of the Council, Pastor Ocran pledged the members' commitment to advancing the College's mission and appealed to the Minister to honor his promises to enable the Council to achieve its objectives.