Pro Vice-Chancellor Receives Officials from UNICEF Ghana

A delegation from UNICEF Ghana has paid a working visit to the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast at his Office.  On the purpose of the visit, the   leader of the team, Ms. Aarti Saihjee, Chief of Education, UNICEF Ghana indicated that the team visited  the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration and decided to pay a courtesy call on the Pro Vice-Chancellor to abreast themselves with the upcoming Second Easter-Annual Forum to be organised by the University.   Welcoming the officials, the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K.T. Oduro thanked the team for the visit. Briefing them on the mandate of UCC, Prof. Oduro said that UCC had diversified its programmes and introduced new ones, but still focuses on its primary responsibility of producing highly qualified and skilled manpower in education. He emphasised that forty per cent of students admitted into the University pursue education-related programmes, qualifying as professional teachers.   On the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration(IEPA), he said the Institute is the premier institute in the country that conducts research in educational issues to inform educational policy makers, as well as train educational planners and administrators at all levels of education in Ghana. He said the Institute had not lost its focus and indicated that UNICEF has been very supportive.  According to him. UNICEF has been collaborating with individuals at the IEPA and advocated for institutional collaboration between the University and UNICEF to conduct research. The Pro Vice-Chancellor noted that the University was currently concentrating “ how to prepare people who will create an enabling environment for early childhood education”. He said Ghana has no policy on Early Childhood Care Education and therefore the University of Cape Coast would be organising a national forum dubbed, “Early Childhood Care and Development: Strengthening Best Practices, Innovations and Research in Ghana”.   The leader of the team, Ms. Aarti Saihjee, Chief of Education, UNICEF Ghana expressed gratitude to UCC for the warm reception and the high sense of cooperation between UNICEF and IEPA. She promised, that the collaboration would be institutionalised instead of individual basis. She assured the Pro Vice-Chancellor that UNICEF would participate in the upcoming easter forum. Ms. Aarti Saihjee was accompanied by the Education Specialist of UNICEF, Mr. Madeez Adamu-Issah.