UEW Students Cry For Allowances

Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Education Minister

The University Of Education, Winneba established just a little over 20 years ago as the tertiary component of the 1987 educational reform b y the PNDC LAW 322 by the merger of existing diploma – awarding colleges of education namely Advance Teacher Training College (Winneba), Advanced Technical Teachers' College (Kumasi), College Of Special Education (Akuapem Mampong), National Academy Of Music (Winneba), St. Andrews Agricultural Training College (Mampong – Ashanti), School Of Ghanaian Languages (Ajumako) And The Specialist Training College (Winnba) thrives on the Mission Statement 'To Train Competent Professional Teachers For All Levels Of Education As Well As Conduct Research, Disseminate Knowledge And Contribute To Educational Policy And Development” to achieve its Vision of “To Be An Internationally Reputable Institution For Education And Research” (from the school's official website).

The school's main duty therefore as enshrined in their mission and vision statements and looking at its background is to train professional teachers to fill all levels of education in the country, a duty that is similar to the duties of the various Colleges Of Education in the country. The only difference been that, whiles UEW train teachers for all educational levels in the country, the Colleges Of Education train teachers for the basic schools in the country.

It is therefore sad to know that the government of Ghana values students of the colleges of education in the country than the students of UEW and this manifest itself in the treatment meted out to students from these institutions by the state. Whiles a learner in the college of education is given some allowance to boost his/her morale and to serve as a motivation for learning, the learner of UEW is left to his fate to fight for himself.

It is really sad to note that a product of a College Of Education after all the allowances and the salaries he enjoys as a student and a worker respectively, continues to take salary when he furthers to the university under the 'study leave program', yet the poor boy/girl who entered the university from the Senior High School even though after the school will be doing the same work as the former and be serving the same state is left alone to fight for himself. This then forces them to embrace the unnecessary bureaucratic 'killer' loan provided by the students' loan trust fund.

A students who after going through 'hell' to get all the process and passing through all the bureaucratic 'chains' but is still refused the loan because of some trivia issues becomes frustrated and sometimes result to other vices just to support himself in the school. Sometimes when situations gets out of hand, has to leave the school.

I am therefore appealing to the government to reconsider their decision and come to the aid of the student of UEW since what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander. I am also appealing to the students' representative council to take this issue up to fight for the right of the student of UEW.

ASSUMAN GILBERT FRIMPONG
UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES
AJUMAKO CAMPUS