The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has trained 400 lecturers in Information Communication Technology to help with the university’s aggressive shift towards online teaching and learning necessitated by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chancellor of the UCC, Dr Sir Sam Jonah who made this known said the effects of the pandemic on education required that universities devised more effective ways of reaching out to their students.
In the circumstance, he noted that online teaching had become the new norm that tertiary institutions must adopt to stay competitive.
He was speaking at the investiture ceremony of Professor Johnson Nyarko Boampong as the 12th vice-chancellor of the UCC on Saturday [August 1, 2020].
Prof Boampong takes over from Prof Joseph Ghartey Ampiah who is on retirement.
The ceremony was also used to induct the 13th Registrar of the UCC, Mr Jeff Teye Emmanuel Onyame who takes over from Mr Kofi Nyan.
Dr Jonah said 400 more faculty staff would be trained to help handle effective quality online teaching, learning and testing to help bring the total number of staff trained in the area to 800.
He observed that this was a bold and prompt step towards sustained quality education in the face of the challenges posed by the pandemic and commended management and the faculties for the initiative.
Bold and decisive leadership
He called for bold and decisive leadership to help the university stay ahead and be competitive in these challenging times.
He urged the new vice-chancellor to embrace all onboard his governance of the university to achieve its set goals.
Prof Boampong gave the assurance that he would work to reposition UCC as the global hub of creative thinkers offering demand driven programmes integrated with practical entrepreneurial courses and actively translating the products of its innovative research for sustainable development.
He said his administration would seek to ensure that UCC created a niche by providing quality, equitable and inclusive education that empowers the graduates to be independent, lifelong learners and responsible citizens, who have passion for job creation while contributing to public service.
The Minister of State in charge Tertiary Education, Prof Kwesi Yankah said universities required the right leadership to be able to fulfill their mandate in undertaking quality and innovative research to meet problems confronting society today and said he was hopeful the new vice chancellor would galvanize all resources at his disposal to achieve this.
The Central Regional Minister, Mr Kwamena Duncan also advised the new vice chancellor to work to keep the peace on campus.
