GRASAG-UEW Holds 5th International Multi-disciplinary Conference
The Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana, University of Education, Winneba (GRASAG-UEW) Chapter, has held its fifth International Multi-disciplinary Conference for postgraduate students at the Jophus Anamuah-Mensah Conference Centre, North Campus, UEW.
The two-day conference, under the auspices of the Institute for Educational Research and Innovation Studies (IERIS), the School of Graduate Studies (SGS), the Centre for International Programmes (CIP), the Centre for Conflict, Human Rights and Peace Studies (CHRAPS), and the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate, is on the theme “Quality Education amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of the Postgraduate Student”.
The conference, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of UEW, Rev. Fr. Prof. Anthony Afful-Broni, took place from Thursday, 15th to Friday, 16th July, 2021.
Rev. Fr. Prof. Afful-Broni, in his remarks, revealed that UEW had implemented and would continue to implement many reforms and effective strategies to successfully fulfil its mandate amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic and to help contribute to the reduction in the spread of the pandemic.
“Apart from having put a COVID Compliance Team in place and observing the protocols, UEW is currently running a hybrid instructional and assessment system. Our University’s College of Distance and e-Learning (CODeL) has been transformed to meet contemporary standards with the pandemic still hanging over our shoulders. In addition, efforts have been made to provide ample space to ease congestion for student activities with the construction of a multi-purpose Student Centre, the first of its kind in the country,” he noted.
The Vice-Chancellor indicated that Management had built a graduate lounge with internet connectivity for graduate students to access high-speed internet for effective research work. “Just a few days ago, the Management team signed a contract with C-DECK, a prominent construction firm, and we cut sod for the construction of a modern four-storey multipurpose School of Research and Graduate Studies Complex which should be completed within 24 months. This is to demonstrate our commitment to what universities really do; concentrating on what graduate schools do is our major priority.”
The Keynote Speaker and Member of Parliament, Klottey-Korle Constituency, Hon. Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings commended UEW for designing an education programme to upscale the qualification of some 200,000 untrained private school teachers across Ghana to professional degree holders.
She highlighted teachers’ crucial role in the impartation of knowledge to citizens to understand the importance of certain policies adding that, no country could move forward without a sound education.
“The objective of tertiary level education is to expand your horizons; to deepen your knowledge to help you with critical thinking to be able to prepare you as you help to mould our nation builders. If your citizens are not well educated it’s difficult to make them understand why certain policies are important. So, your role as those who are imparting knowledge is so crucial and your ability to teach those you will be imparting knowledge on how to think critically, and how to be more patriotic is so key,” Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings told the postgraduate students at the Conference.
The Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, who was the Guest of Honour, in a speech read on his behalf by Dr. Eric Nkansah, bemoaned the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s educational system.
“Ghana like any other country has not been spared from the impact of this pandemic. The educational sector is one of the hardest hit across the globe. In response, the Government has instituted several alternatives and innovative pedagogical reforms to curb the menace. It is important to note that higher education and academic research remain a priority for the Government and will continue to invest in creating conditions for a robust knowledge-based economy,” Dr. Osei Adutwum noted.
