Teacher Education Not Responding to Demands of Society

Winneba, May 13, GNA - Any Teacher Education System that fails to reflect changes in the society would be producing teachers for the past and not the present or the future, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Professor Jephus Anamuah-Mensah has said. He was speaking at the opening of a two-day national forum on Teacher Education at Winneba, which is under the theme: "Teacher Education in Ghana at the Crossroads; New Perspectives in Focus".

It is being organized by the University of Education, Winneba and is the third to its kind to be organised by universities responsible for teacher education in the country.

Prof. Anamuah-Mensah said that the poor results obtained by primary pupils in the Criterion Reference Tests and Performance Monitor Tests and the poor results of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the urban and rural disparities in performance and participation had been blamed on teacher education.

He said the present way of teacher training was not responding to the professional needs of teachers and demands of society. Prof. Anamuah-Mensah said the new pressure and demands required teachers to be trailblazers in the lives of learners, reflective practitioners and agents of change.

Stakeholders in education, including Principals of Teacher Training Colleges; University of Cape Coast; Directors of Education and non-governmental organisations are attending.

The forum would take a comprehensive overview of teacher education in Ghana and provide an opportunity for participants to discuss pertinent issues affecting teacher education in the country. The outcome of the forum would serve as the basis for bringing innovation and dynamism into the various aspects of teacher education in Ghana.