UEW-DECE Commissions Demonstration School and Postgraduate Resource Centre
The Department of Early Childhood Education (DECE) of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), on Friday, 26th May, 2023, commissioned a Demonstration School and a resource centre for postgraduate programmes at the North campus of the university.
The DECE Demonstration School will serve as a model school that will give top-notch instruction to children in the early childhood stage. The school will also afford both student-teachers in the DECE and beyond the opportunity to experience modern facilitation of content and methodology of teaching as well as practice models. The resource centre for postgraduate programmes, on the other hand, will serve as a conference and a model lecture hall for postgraduate programmes.
The Head of Department (HoD), DECE, Dr. Michael Subbey, in welcoming guests at the ceremony, disclosed that the DECE Demonstration School was put up by one of its illustrious sons, who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of End-Point Homeopathic Clinic, with furniture support from Sabre Education.
The CEO of End-Point Homoeopathic Clinic, Dr. Adu Boateng, stated that he was inspired to establish a demonstration centre for the department by the problems student-mothers face in enrolling their kids in local schools while they pursue their education. He commended Mrs. Joyce Nsiah Asante, the then Director for Basic Schools at UEW and a senior lecturer at DECE, for ensuring that the project got off the ground.
"Some of the children were left in the care of non-professional carers. This posed a lot of challenges for the mothers. In addition, I also noted that if I built the centre, it could serve as a demonstration centre for the department as well as solve the observed challenges for our student-mothers," he affirmed.
Dr. Adu-Boateng emphasised that the school had been carefully designed with the unique needs of early learners in mind.
“It is a vibrant and inclusive space, where imagination can flourish and exploration can take flight. Brightly coloured walls, interactive learning corners, and age-appropriate resources have been meticulously arranged to create an environment that sparks creativity and nurtures holistic development.
“Within these walls, our dedicated students and educators will employ innovative teaching methodologies tailored to the needs and interests of our little ones. They will inspire young minds to discover, question, and collaborate–a foundation for the lifelong skills they will acquire on their educational journey,” he averred.
The Chairperson for the ceremony and Deputy Registrar, Division of Human Resource, Mrs. Deborah Afful, pointed out that the establishment of the two facilities had come at a good time when the university is progressing steadily.
“One of our core values at this university is academic excellence, so it is in order that the Department of Early Childhood Education has seen the need to put up this edifice. A demonstration school usually offers teacher trainees or students opportunities for educational research and professional development, among other things. So, this is an innovation hub for creativity and experimentation where the application of new knowledge, research, new discoveries, and problems will be solved,” she asserted.
Mrs. Deborah Afful was hopeful that the edifice would provide access to materials that are nonexistent in various lecture rooms, provide resources that can support learning and research, encourage independent learning and research, and promote collaboration among all stakeholders.
The Dean, Faculty of Educational Studies, UEW, Prof. Dandy George Dampson, underscored the need for the faculty to start thinking about having its own demonstration school. He revealed his intent to form a committee to decide where, how and when to commence the basic school for the faculty.
"I want to implore you, the faculty, and the HoDs who will come after Subbey, that if it is really a demonstration school, we need to position it as a centre of excellence. We need not equate this centre of excellence to any other centre of excellence, and it’s bestowed on us to demonstrate. How can we do that—maintenance? How can we do that? We need qualified teachers from the Department of Early Childhood to be enrolled.
“We need to have a roadmap, rules, and regulations on how we want this centre to be so that it will be a beacon for anyone who comes after him. Let’s sit down and plan what we have to do with this place. We need teachers, and we need students. What are we going to do? We are happy to announce that very soon, the faculty will split into two, and we will have the Faculty of Teacher Education and Training, and our attention will be on this place. This will give us more opportunities and the strength to widen our scope and bring out other things,” he professed.
