President To Support PTC With Educational Facilities

President John Agyekum Kufuor has promised to make available appropriate amount of money to ensure that an electronic library is put in the new library block being constructed at the Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong-Akuapem, in the Eastern Region.

He also pledged to construct a new administrative block for the college to befit the current status of the college as the first high school to be established in the country.

These were announced by Dr (Mrs) Mary Chinery-Hesse, Chief Advisor to the President at the 160th anniversary of the college at Akropong-Akuapem last Saturday.

The current administrative block of the college was build in the 1920s when the students and staff population of the college was not as big as now.

Mrs Chinery-Hesse called on all colleges of education in the country to see their recent upgrading to tertiary institutions as a challenge to produce highly qualified and motivated teachers who will work with more dedication and commitment.

She said the graduates the colleges produce should not be just diploma holders by name but by their efficiency and total output of work, everybody should appreciate that they are real diploma holders.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Affram-Asiedu called on Ghanaians to disabuse their minds of the rumours that the government is planning to rig the elections.

He said, to ensure orderliness, government has establish Election Security Task Forces at the national, regional and district levels and urged the people of Ghana to prepare to challenge any wrongdoings during the elections and report to the appropriate authorities for action and not to take the law into their own hands.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt Rev Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso observed that, a high quality teacher is the primary determinant that increases student achievement.

He said the country can develop and adopt the greatest curriculum standards, assessments, teaching resources and technological tools in the world but none can guarantee the preparation of the students of the country for the exciting opportunities in the 21st century except well-trained, caring, inspiring and dedicated teachers.

Rt Rev Frimpong-Manso challenged the current generation of students and staff of the College to be spurred on by the selfless and dedicated service of the pioneers of the school and to hold aloft the banner of discipline, academic and moral excellence for which the college is noted for.

The Principal of the College, Mr E K Osei called for the establishment of modern computer laboratories in all training colleges in the country for the training of the future teachers of the country.

He explained that, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become part of the educational curriculum and teachers from the training colleges are expected to teach the subject in schools yet none of the colleges has the facility for the training of the teachers.

Mr Osei also appealed for the rehabilitation of the roads in the college and the construction of more bungalows for the lecturers of the college.