By Jones Anlimah
The Evangelical Presbyterian College of Education at Amedzofe in the Ho West District of the Volta Region has graduated 282 students at its 18th Congregation, with the institution recording its highest number of First Class honours graduates in its history.
The ceremony, held as part of the college’s celebration of 80 years of excellence in teacher education, was on the theme: “80 Years of Excellence in Teacher Education: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Training of Teachers.”
Principal of the college, Dr Dickson Tsey, said 31 of the graduates obtained First Class honours, 177 graduated with Second Class Upper Division and 74 with Second Class Lower Division.
He said the performance represented an improvement on previous years, describing the 31 First Class honours as the highest recorded by the college.
The overall best graduating student also achieved a cumulative average of 3.93, which Dr Tsey said was unprecedented in the history of the institution.
“This is the highest recorded First Class honours in the history of the college so far as I am concerned,” he said.
The congregation also marked the graduation of the college’s first batch of students trained in early grade education.
Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, Professor Augustine Ocloo, described the development as a significant milestone for the institution.
“To these pioneers, you are trailblazers,” he told the graduates, adding that the quality of early childhood education would play an important role in shaping Ghana’s future.
Professor Ocloo said the college’s decision to venture into the training of early grade teachers was a strategic investment in the foundation of Ghana’s education system.
He also underscored the growing importance of artificial intelligence in education, saying AI should be seen as a tool to enhance, rather than replace, the work of teachers.
“AI does not replace the teacher. It amplifies the teacher’s ability. Technology is a tool, not a substitute for the human touch,” he said.
He disclosed that GTEC was pursuing a digital transformation agenda for teacher education and had commissioned a committee to develop an AI policy for the sector.
Acting Volta Regional Director of Education, Mrs Marian Adzroe, who represented the Minister of Education, said teacher education institutions must prepare graduates to use technology responsibly and ethically.
“Our objective, therefore, cannot simply be to produce teachers who know how to use technology,” she said. “We must produce competent, ethical and innovative teachers who can use technology to enhance learning, while preserving the human values that remain at the heart of education.”
She urged the graduates to embrace technology while remaining guided by integrity, empathy and professional ethics.
The Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, also assured the college of efforts to address some of its development challenges.
He said the Regional Coordinating Council would collaborate with the Ministry of Education, GTEC, the Member of Parliament and the Ho West District Assembly to help resolve the challenges confronting the institution.
Mr Gunu noted that government was undertaking a lecture hall complex for the college under the Ghana Education Trust Fund, while pledging support for efforts to improve the area’s road network.
The Principal, however, appealed for further investment in infrastructure, particularly the construction of a modern auditorium.
According to him, the lack of a befitting auditorium continued to limit the college’s ability to organise major academic and ceremonial programmes.
Other challenges, he said, included poor internal roads, inadequate staff offices, insufficiently equipped science and home science laboratories and inadequate residential accommodation for staff.
“We therefore make a humble but passionate appeal to the Government of Ghana, the Governing Council, the Alumni and all development partners to help us put our hands together to make this project a reality for the institution,” Dr Dorm Tsey said of the proposed auditorium.
Despite the challenges, the Principal said the college was making progress in staff development, student enrolment and infrastructure.
Five members of staff, he said, had completed doctoral programmes and graduated with PhD degrees, while the college’s student population currently stood at 1,131, including 333 first-year students.
He also announced progress on several infrastructure projects, including a 300-capacity hostel facility and a female students’ hostel being financed through the college’s internally generated funds.
Dr Tsey used the occasion to thank government, the governing council, staff, students, parents, alumni, the church and other stakeholders for their contributions to the college’s development.
He said the ceremony held special personal significance for him, as it would be his final congregation as Principal before leaving office in October.
“To the graduates, today is your day,” he said, urging them to see graduation not as the end of their education but the beginning of a lifelong journey of learning and service.
He reminded them that while their certificates could open opportunities, their character and work ethic would determine their long-term success.
“Your certificate may open a door, but your character will determine whether you remain in the room,” he said.
The Evangelical Presbyterian College of Education, Amedzofe, founded in 1946, is marking eight decades of training teachers for Ghana’s education sector under its motto, “Education for Service.”
