Jackson Educational Complex To Launch Foundation...To Support 100 Students Annually

Mrs. Theodosia Jackson, The Principal Of Jackson Educational Complex

The Jackson Educational Complex, which focuses essentially, on increasing the supply of professionally trained teachers in Ghana by 2030, seeks to partner key stakeholders, philanthropists, organizations and other corporate entities to provide financial aid and scholarship scheme as intervention programmes for its students who are extremely disadvantaged.

The College, founded in 2009, seeks to raise a seed fund of GHc200,000.00 to cater for cost of education of a minimum of 100 students per year [Annual fees is GHc1,950.00] and also organise occasional educational outreach training programmes with the objective of increasing the number of qualified trained teachers in the rural and deprived areas.

The main objectives of the Jackson Foundation, according to the Principal, are providing measurable financial aid to cater for school fees and learning materials via a well-structured scholarship scheme and mobilization of funds to provide first-class technologically enhanced learning facilities.

The proposed Jackson Foundation is, therefore, intended to help curb the perennial lack of trained teachers in Ghanaian basic schools by giving all and sundry equal opportunities.

The objective of Jackson Foundation is to help reduce inequalities [poverty, gender and physical challenges of individuals] with a well-structured financial aid and scholarship scheme which aims at promoting human resource development.

The Jackson College of Education (JCE), the first Private College of Education running a distance education programme in Ghana, has since its establishment in 2009 produced about 6,171 graduates who have acquired a wide range of transferrable knowledge and skills for the job market.

The College, which is affiliated to the University of Education-Winneba (UEW) with accreditation by the National Accreditation Board (NAB), offers a three-year Diploma Programme in Basic Education through Distance Learning at 30 learning centres across the ten regions of the country.

The college, which prime objective is to produce more professionally trained teachers to support schools without trained teachers, currently has 40 hardworking full-time staff. They are supported by other 750 other part-time members of staff. We also have 40 centre supervisors and 10 Zonal Co-ordinators who are also engaged on part-time basis.

JEC has over 50% of its student population from rural areas and deprived societies, with many unable to pay for the cost of their education despite the affordable and flexible payment system of fees instituted by the college.

The proposed Foundation is primarily established to bring education through various scholarship schemes to aid the masses, students and communities with exceptional academic abilities but are financially challenged.

The above is intended to reduce poverty and hence, bring hope to persons who are physically challenged, discriminated against due to their gender, and finally, to those who wallow in penury.

The Fund therefore, seeks to raise funds to sponsor the training of teachers; establish first class facilities for learning and community engagement; and lifting rural folk from illiteracy to literacy, which would give them brighter hope for their future.

It also seeks to partner with donor institutions, international and local organizations to complete its current Jackson Central Hub Project at Juaben in the Ashanti Region, which Hub will comprise lecture halls, auditoria and residential halls for continuous training of teachers.

In order to achieve the above, Jackson Foundation focuses on four main areas in establishing a scholarship scheme. Among the key thematic objects are to support brilliant but needy students, providing first class learning facilities [State of the art building facilities, usage of improved educational technologies and finest educational materials], facilitating community engagement training and learning programmes and rolling out personal development for both students and alumni to develop the next leaders in education.

The Jackson Foundation is also aimed at providing equal and equitable opportunities to both untrained teachers and new entrants to the teaching field. The Foundation’s main objective is to help reduce inequalities [poverty gap, gender bias and physical challenges] with a well-structured financial aid and scholarship scheme which aims at promoting human resource development [as a sustainable development approach].

Theodosia W. Jackson and Prof. Ebenezer A. Jackson, Principal and Director respectively who announced this in a proposal since March 2017 indicated that the Jackson Foundation would be launched in April this year after which the first batch of 10 beneficiaries would be awarded scholarships.

Applications for scholarships are to be submitted in July this year for consideration. The Scholarship Scheme seeks to award up to 100 students in September this year, the Principal noted.

The Principal also hinted that Partners and Stakeholders Meeting has been scheduled for June, 2017.

Mrs. Jackson said a fundraising activity for the Jackson Central Hub has been fixed for October this year and that the first phase of the Jackson Central Hub will be launched in November, 2017 which will be followed by an Annual Partners and Stakeholders Meeting in December, 2017.

She has therefore, called on all key stakeholders, philanthropists, organizations and corporate entities and well-meaning Ghanaians to support a good cause.