Desag Holds 18th Annual National Delegates

A three-day congress of the Distance Education Students Association of Ghana, University of Cape Coast (DESAG-UCC) has commenced on campus.

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A three-day congress of the Distance Education Students Association of Ghana, University of Cape Coast (DESAG-UCC) has commenced on campus.

A new set of executives will be elected during the event.

The congress is themed, “Bridging the Gap: Leveraging Technology to Enhance the Quality and Accessibility of Education for All”.

Addressing the Congress, Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Prof. Rofela Combey described the theme as timely as UCC braces itself for the implementation of the Astra e-learning, an initiative which will enable UCC to deliver its accredited programmes through a modern, technology-enabled learning environment.

“I am happy that the College of Distance Education is hosting this programme and I am confident that all stakeholders will rally efforts to make this eCampus and its programmes attain resounding successes for many years to come,” said Prof. Combey, who represented the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Denis Aheto.

She announced that the AI policy document had been submitted to relevant statutory bodies for approval.

“Once the policy document is approved, it will provide unique opportunities for our stakeholders to engage in responsible use of AI for teaching, learning, research, and community engagements. I hope you will take advantage of and enroll in these new programmes when accreditation is completed,” the Provost added.

She implored the College of Distance Education Students Association to pledge its unwavering support to stand at the forefront of the technological revolution in education for everyone who wants to access higher education everywhere— championing every initiative that bridges the gap, enhances quality, and guarantees accessibility for all.

She charged student leaders to conduct their electioneering in a responsible manner so that the best candidates will be elected.

The Provost of the College of Distance Education, Prof. Anokye Mohammed Adam, in his address, said through distance learning, UCC had been able to extend quality higher education to thousands of Ghanaians who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to pursue university education.

He said that the College was working on the directive from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) regarding the accreditation and regulation of study centres across the country.

“ This directive has resulted in 28 centers currently being approved for operation, while several other centres await accreditation,” he revealed.

Prof. Adam continued: “ While this reform is necessary to ensure the quality and credibility of tertiary education in Ghana, it has also created practical challenges for some of our students. In certain cases, students now have to travel a little longer to attend face-to-face sessions at the approved centres,” he noted.

He gave assurance that management of the university was engaging with the relevant authorities to ensure that additional centres receive the required accreditation,stressing: “Our goal is clear: to ensure that UCC has at least one fully approved study centre in each of the 16 regional capitals of Ghana.”

While study centres remain an important component of distance education, Prof. Adam indicated that the future of learning would increasingly be shaped by technology-driven delivery systems.

“For this reason, UCC is introducing fully online programmes that will allow students to complete their studies entirely through digital platforms without the need to travel to study centres,” he said.

Prof. Adam announced that the College would soon introduce a Student Support Tutor System designed specifically to support students enrolled in fully online programmes.

“Under this system, students will be assigned personalized tutors who will provide academic guidance, mentoring, and assistance with their coursework,” he said.

He urged the congress to elect executives that would uphold the principles of fairness, integrity and respect for the DESAG constitution, maintaining that leadership within DESAG must always be guided by service and responsibility.

In a brief remark, the National President of DESAG, Miss. Rita Quarshie, noted that the activism of the student body had yielded results as efforts from the current executives had ensured all students received their learning materials on time.