THE antiquated and crumbling structures of the E.P. College of Education, Amedzofe (AMECO), which was established 73 years ago, can no longer contain the soaring student population.
For instance, the college assembly hall which was originally built to cater for 150 students is now serving little purpose as it cannot take in the current students’ population of 604.
Meanwhile, the few bungalows on the campus had deteriorated, while the college urgently needs a decent administration building and a classroom block to cater for the large classes and the computer laboratory.
The situation, according to the principal, Dr Dickson Tsey, is seriously threatening future admissions.
He made the startling revelations at the 12thcongregation of the college here on Saturday.
The event was under the theme: “Transforming Teacher Education – The role of stakeholders.”
In all, 227 graduands, including 89 females, were awarded diplomas in Basic Education, with two of them achieving First Class.
Still on the challenges, Dr Tsey expressed grief over the four-storey GETFund female hostel project on the campus which took off in 2012 but came to a stand-still at the foundation level and abandoned by the contractors.
He pointed out that there would be an influx of beneficiaries of the free SHS programme next year seeking admission into tertiary institutions, including Colleges of Education and reminded the government to make adequate preparations with regards to infrastructure at the various tertiary campuses well ahead of time “so that we are not overwhelmed by the expected numbers”.
Dr Tsey described AMECO as a noble and an historic institution and appealed to the government, old students, public-spirited individuals and corporate entities to come to the aid of the college and help AMECO in various ways to restore her dignity.
On a brighter side, the principal announced that with the introduction of the four-year Bachelor of Education programme last year, AMECO had signed 60 Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with various basic schools in the Ho municipality and the Ho West District to partner the college in the training of student teachers.
Additionally, Dr Tsey stated that AMECO had signed a similar MoU with the Accra College of Education for collaboration and support in the fields of research, teaching and learning for their mutual benefit.
The guest speaker, Rev. Professor Daniel A. Nyarko said that teacher education must be of the highest quality, since all forms of training required the services of a teacher.
The guest of honour, Togbe Adza Yi IV, Managing Director of GOIL Ghana, advised the graduands to continue aiming at higher pedestals since the teaching field offered many glorious opportunities for further learning.
FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, AMEDZOFE
