Regional News of Tuesday, 19 October 2004

Source: GNA

UEW sensitises heads of schools, colleges on internship programme

Winneba (C/R), Oct. 19, GNA - The University of Education Winneba (UEW) on Tuesday organized a day's workshop for 200 heads of senior secondary, basic schools and teacher training colleges in the Central, Western, Eastern, Volta and Greater Accra regions to explain the rationale in the students internship programme of the University. It was also to sensitise them to their roles and responsibilities for the success of the programme that have been adopted by the university to help produce good quality teachers to enhance the development of the nation.

Under the internship programme, students of the University are expected to spend three years at the University campus and one-year internship (teaching practice) Opening the workshop, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Jophus Anamuah-Mensah said the older teaching practice, where students from the university spent only six weeks on the field has been found not to be the best and has not helped to turn out better teachers for the country.

Professor Anamuah-Mensah urged the heads not to regard the students-teachers as a replacement of their vacant posts and overload them, since this would affect them (students) in their performance, saying, the students are not full time staff but are there to help and also learn.

He told the heads to monitor the performance of the intern students and send credible reports that would help the University to grade the students after the completion of the courses.

The Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Jonas Akpanglo-Nartey, who took the participants through the topic "The Role and Responsibility of Partnership" told the heads to allow the students to handle subjects they are specializing in.