The union of natives of Bolgatanga Nabdam Bongo and Tongo (BONABOTO) has initiated processes to establish a Teacher Training College in the Upper East Region to augment the only two training colleges the region currently has.
The decision according to BONABOTO was triggered amongst others by a desire to improve the quality of education in the Upper East region by churning out highly trained professional teachers who would intend impact quality teaching and learning in the basic schools.
The upper east region currently has two Colleges of Education which include the St. John Bosco’s Training College in Navrongo and the Gbewa Training College in Pusiga. This they noted could be supported upon the establishment of a new Teacher Training College in the BONABOTO enclave.
A planning committee was setup to start the grounds work which has education moguls comprising of retired educationists and administrators. The committee was charged to dwell on five thematic areas towards establishing the college. The committee amongst other things identified five temporal structures to house the college and also conceived volunteer staff and administrators who would man the affairs of the college for a start. The processes of documentation and accreditation were started and have reached an appreciable level.
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East on Wednesday, Public Relations Officer for BONABOTO Abopam Stanley said the initiative is a manifestation of a strong will by the union to take up the mantle of dealing with some challenges facing the region head-on instead of feeding on mere hopes of having such an institution in the future.
“For this region, we have only two training colleges which is the least in the whole country but more serious is the fact that within the BONABOTO enclave we have no college of education to train teachers. What it means is that most teachers would have to be trained in Bosco’s or Gbewa training college if they have to be trained within the region in the ideal situation or they would have to be trained outside the region. This situation shocked us and so we think that as a people we should be taking on our problems head-on” he said.
He added that BONABOTO isn’t receiving any support currently to establish the College of Education but is liaising with its partners, chiefs and stakeholders with support from influential persons in the BONABOTO enclave to bring the college to fusion. Mr. Abopam noted that though government has pledged to establish 10 colleges of education in the country of which the upper east region is expected to be a beneficiary, it would only add to the number and enhance education if all materialize.
He intimated that there is a missing link between education and culture and this according to him is due to the relegation to the background of relevant facets of Ghanaian culture including the local language and hence the college would inculcate and indoctrinate such aspects into its teaching and learning activities.
The proposed BONABOTO College of Education is expected to commence enrollment in September 2016.
By: Azongo Albert | A1RADIOONLINE.com | GHANA
