Winneba (C/R), Nov. 28, GNA - A special short-term sabbatical exchange programme under which selected students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Nigeria and the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), will periodically, execute a two-week teaching practice exercise, is to take off in January next year.

This was the outcome of final discussions on proposals submitted by the authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University represented by a six-member delegation and the UEW team led by Professor F A Joppa, Director, Office of International Relations.

Professor Biodun Adediran, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Chairman Linkages and Sponsored Research of the Obafemi Awolowo University led the six-member delegation in the discussions aimed at creating and strengthening linkages between the two universities for specific programmes and projects of mutual benefit.

Other areas of cooperation would include research collaboration in the basic sciences, medicine, technology, the applied sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Studies, the exchange of lecturers, staff, scholars and students, advanced studies, research, curriculum development, capacity building and institutional development. According to Professor Biodun Adediran, the essence of the proposed exchange programme was to enable students of Obafemi Awolowo University benefit from the vast teaching experiences and effective teaching methods of their Ghanaian counterparts.

In his contribution, Professor Kayode Alao, a member of the delegation, expressed the hope that the programme would enhance the relationships of the two universities in their collective efforts to improve and promote education in Africa.

The Nigerian team was highly impressed about the internship programme of the UEW, saying that judging from research conducted so far that was the best it has noticed.

Professor Joppa, who chaired the discussions, assured the Nigerian team that the authorities of the UEW were equally appreciative of the initiative made by the OAU and were prepared to collaborate fully to ensure success of the programme.

Delegates at the meeting agreed in principle to add a number of useful suggestions and ideas mooted by Professor Joppa and other participants to the proposals.

Participants had earlier agreed th at the first batch of students from OAU would arrive in Ghana on January 21, 2007 to start the programme, whereas selected students from UEW would reciprocate the gesture somewhere in June the same year.

They would be exposed to classroom activities to enable them to observe and learn from the way Ghanaian teachers conduct their professional duties.

Besides the observation of classroom work, the beneficiary students would also interact with their counterparts at the UEW Campus to give them more insight into teaching methodology and cultural practices prevailing in Ghana.

Prof. Joppa assured the authorities of OAU that their partners in Ghana would provide the beneficiary students from the OAU free transport to and from their teaching practicing centres. A memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed by the two universities on the project to make it effective before the Nigerian team returns home. 28 Nov. 06