Participants in a group photograph at the workshop
The School of Continuing and Distance Education (SCDE) under the College of Education, University of Ghana has organized a two-day workshop to develop initiatives towards the revamping of the Distance Education Programme. The workshop which took place from 19th -20th November, 2021 was an avenue for College Management, Coordinators and faculty from participating departments to dialogue and resolve gaps in the delivery of the Distance Education programme.
In his welcome address, the Acting College Secretary, Mr. Joseph Oduro Nkansah, indicated that the workshop sought to provide a platform to empower stakeholders and to develop strategies to improve the Distance Education model. He was of the view that although the programme seemed to be at an infantile stage, it possessed a lot of potential that could be harnessed to expand the scope and access to education. Consequently, he charged the participants to put their best foot forward in order to make the model a great asset to the College and the University at large.
The Acting Provost of the College, Prof. Martin Oteng-Ababio thanked all participants for their presence. He was hopeful that the gathering would be a time to reflect and craft progressive strategies on how the Distance Education model could be run. Reiterating the huge potential of the Distance Education Programme in the educational sphere, he pointed out that there was the need to fashion out a different approach in order to obtain better results.
In addition, he suggested that the different undergraduate and postgraduate subjects taught at the University could be adapted into the Distance Education Programme to suit the diverse needs of people who desire to engage in higher education. Prof. Oteng-Ababio encouraged participants to team up in developing roadmaps that would make the programme attractive and to achieve the desired results.
A cross section of participants at the workshop
In brief remarks, the Dean of the School of the Continuing and Distance Education, Prof. Olivia Kwapong expressed her gratitude to participants for investing their time and resources into the Distance Education programme. She pointed out that the College management is creating an enabling environment and is responsive to proposals from faculty and students seeking to boost the operations of the programme. She advocated the need to work in teams, and urged participants to identify challenges and propose solutions that would yield excellent results.
During their presentation, the student representatives of the Distance Education programme enumerated their concerns about the programme which included issues with: registration of courses, the Sakai Learning Management System, accommodation on campus (especially during examination periods) and accessibility to various facilities. They also touched on the state of the University of Ghana Distance Education Leadership and appealed to College management to resolve issues of the association following the suspension of the current executives.
Prof. Martin Oteng-Ababio and Prof. Olivia Kwapong in a photograph with students of the Distance Education Programme
The Acting Head of the Department of Distance Education also spoke on diverse topics which included overview of admission processes, level of infrastructure, appointment of coordinators and faculty as well as student support systems.
Presentations were also made by the coordinators of the Distance Education programme, namely, Dr. Simon-Peter K. Aheto, Dr. Gideon Mensah Anapey and Dr. Obed Appiah Sampson.
Faculty from participating schools and departments in the Distance Education programme also made presentations. These are Dr. Mary Ani-Amponsah (School of Nursing and Midwifery), Dr. Yvonne Lamptey (Organisation and Human Resource Dept., University of Ghana Business School), Dr. Joana Larry-Afutu (Department of Psychology), Dr. Maame Gyekye-Jandoh (Department of Political Science) and Dr. Nana Nimo Appiah-Agyekum (Dept. of Public Administration and Health Services Management, University of Ghana Business School).
Present at the workshop were the College Finance Officer, Mr. Michael Owusu Ansah; College Academic Affairs Officer, Mrs. Cynthia Adu; Dr. Frank Akasreku (UGBS); Dr. Jonathan Odame (Dept. of Distance Education) and the School Administrator (SCDE), Mrs. Regina Afari Boateng.
Mr. Bright Afeku, Ms. Perpetual Acquah and Mr. Memphis Giveway represented students of the Distance Education programme during the workshop.
A group photograph of participants at the workshop