The Most Reverend Dr Daniel Yinkah Sarfo, Anglican Archbishop for the Administrative Province of Ghana, has pleaded with the government to give more support to colleges of education to enable them to operate more efficiently and at full capacity.

Under-resourcing, combined with “quota system of admission”, he said, resulted in under-population and under-utilization of the colleges and must be tackled with some urgency.

The Most Rev Yinkah Sarfor, who was speaking at the fifth graduation ceremony of the Saint Monica’s College of Education at Mampong, said things needed to change to help produce professionally trained teachers in required numbers for basic schools, particularly in the rural communities.

A total of 185 students graduated and received Diploma in Basic Education Certificates.

Mrs Christiana Sobotie, the Principal, called for an increase of the College’s admission quota to 300 students from the present 195, saying, they had the space and facilities for that.

She also appealed to the Education Ministry to come out with firm directive on what should be done with pregnant teacher trainees.

This comes in the wake of the declaration by the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) that such students could not be asked to defer the course.