University Students To Take Teaching Course

MAHAMA AYARIGA, a Deputy Minister of Education, has hinted that government is in discussions with university authorities across the country to introduce a compulsory module on pedagogy (teaching) in all tertiary institutions, to end the current situation where most graduates get posted to teach. According to Mr. Ayariga, the greatest harm the country had been causing to the future of children had been the unleashing of thousands of graduates of tertiary institutions who knew nothing about how to serve as teachers in basic schools. He made the disclosure in a presentation during the first ever National Service Scheme Stakeholders� conference in Accra last Friday. Mr. Ayariga pointed out that one of the major shortcomings of leadership in the country had been the inability to mobilize the country�s population in a coordinated manner and channel the energies of the youth into prioritized productive ventures informed by strategic visions. According to him, there had been several strategic visions which had all been well-thought-out and which if well implemented, could help meet the country�s development targets. The maiden NSS stakeholders� conference and exhibition is aimed at creating a unique broad-based stakeholders interface to provide a central point for deliberations on the strategic imperatives for the scheme in Ghana, in the long-term. Themed: �NSS In Retrospect, Challenges And The Way Forward�, it was also targeted at creating a credible and high-profile platform to allow stakeholders to buy in and elicit support for the activities of the scheme. Stakeholders will find appropriate measures to be adopted to ensure successful administrative and operational structural reforms of the Ghana National Service Scheme (GNSS) to enhance effective and efficient administration of it. The conference, Mr. Ayariga said, was in the right direction as over the years, the scheme had restricted itself to only school graduates, adding that the deployment of service personnel had not been particularly aimed at implementing development visions. He therefore commended the management of the scheme for its efforts to provide some new direction to the scheme and inject some dynamism. Mr. Ayariga additionally assured stakeholders of government�s efforts to provide the scheme with the needed support. Vincent Senam Kuagbenu, Executive Director, NSS, in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, said throughout the world, global leaders had used national service as a tool to address critical national needs. He explained that the scheme had also engaged in programmes that were aimed at reducing hunger, illiteracy and disease. Alex Tettey-Enyo, a former Minister of Education, who was the chairman for the conference, called on the stakeholders to contribute effectively towards the discussions to ensure an effective programme outcome. He expressed the hope that the conference would educate the public on the prospect of the scheme and the way forward.