Strategic plan unveiled to accelerate technology education in Ghana
The Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC) has outlined a number of strategic plans directed at repositioning the university to promote technology education in Ghana and to place their students well in the competitive world of technology.
University authorities have therefore taken giant initiatives to promote virtual education, increase students enrollment, implement campus automation system, expand physical infrastructure, introduce newly competitive programmes, carry out vigorous research and embark on fund-raising campaigns as part of measures towards the achievement of the objective.
Dr. Osei Dankwa, President of GTUC disclosed this on Tuesday during a special congregation ceremony held for 72 post-graduate students in various disciplines.
He said a new trend in the history of higher education was the rise of companies which offered free non-credit courses online from universities such as Stanford University, attracting students from the globe to take those courses.
Dr Dankwa said it was in line with that thinking that GTUC had begun the crusade of changing the system of tertiary education delivery in Ghana, adding “we want our students to go to school in a virtual environment or on a tablet computer regardless of location”.
He said the goal of the university was to promote anytime, anywhere learning and connect students and lecturers to learning resources, noting that it was on the bases of this that the university introduced the campus companion, a tablet computer that provides a new approach to supporting teaching and learning.
Dr. Dankwa said the university had also created a centre for online learning and teaching to work closely and collaboratively with college faculty and administrators to promote effective use of technology education.
He said enrollment represented the lifeblood of any university and that GTUC was aiming at enrolling 3,000 students this year, while at the same time it was committed to improving educational quality and raising the academic profile of the student body.
Dr. Dankwa said the university had entered into partnership with a global educational software company to undertake the university automation process, adding that the campus management systems (CMS) would have modules to cover university processes, from pre-admission to alumni management.
He said the development of the CMS would enable the university to assess and measure its performance in various functional areas in a timely manner.
Dr. Dankwa stated that the university had started the construction of a three-story complex consisting classrooms, library, computer labs and six administrative offices.
He said in addition to providing lecture halls, new faculty offices, and a new graduate school, a learning resource centre and two student lounges had also been created to provide private reading rooms for graduate students.
Dr. Dankwa said due to increased pressure to secure student housing, the university would begin the construction of a new seven-story hostel facility from early March to house 500 students.
He indicated that given that the cornerstone of enrollment plan and the university’s ultimate success were hinged on development of new programmes, a new academic partnership unit had been created and charged with the responsibility of supporting the development of a new portfolio of academic partnerships.
He said the university was going to balance teaching and research to shape the future identity and destiny of the institution, adding “we will place more emphasis on research and put in place all the institutional protocols needed to ensure solid research support to assist the faculty”.
Dr. Dankwa appealed to the alumni to lend its support in meeting the university’s target of raising three million dollars to execute the infrastructural development projects earmarked.
He advised the graduands to apply the knowledge and skills they had acquired to find solutions to the perennial social and economic problems facing the nation.
Source: GNA