Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has commended the leadership of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) for their unwavering commitment to teacher development, digital innovation, academic excellence and graduate employability.

“You continue to demonstrate leadership in teacher quality enhancement, inclusive education strategies, postgraduate training for the education sector, research into teaching and learning innovations, and mentoring the next generation of educators and administrators,” he stated.

Mr Iddrisu made the commendation in a speech delivered on his behalf at the first session of the 30th congregation of UEW at Winneba.

A total of 8,288 students across the Faculties of Health, Allied Sciences and Home Economics Education, School of Business, faculty of Science Education, School of Education and life-long Learning and School of Communication and Media Studies graduated from the university.

The rest were the Faculty of Ghanaian Languages Education, Social Sciences Education, Social Studies Education, Foreign Languages Education, School of Graduate Studies and School of Creative Arts.

They were conferred with degrees, diplomas and certificates.

According to the Minister, the University’s efforts were central to achieving the Ministry’s broader goals of improving learning outcomes, strengthening teacher professionalism and expanding technical and vocational capacity across the country, assuring that the Ministry would continue to support them in advancing their goals.

He said the mission of UEW was to train competent professional educators to spearhead the development of the nation’s human resource needs for socio-economic transformation through quality teaching, learning, research and leadership aligned directly with the nation’s aspirations for knowledgeable, competent and globally competitive workforce.

The university remained Ghana’s anchor institution for producing teachers and education professionals who build the foundation of every other profession.

“Thus, UEW mission is not simply to award degrees, it is to shape the minds that shape the future,” the Minister said.

Mr Iddirus urged the graduands to know that their graduation marked the beginning of a new responsibility to lead, teach, inspire and to transform, saying, as products of UEW, they must teach with passion, lead with humility, innovate fearlessly, serve with integrity and inspire others to believe in themselves.

“Your journey has only begun and your nation needs your brilliance, hence the need to let your light shine wherever you may find yourselves in the classroom, community leadership, administration, research or in the public service, he added.

Professor Stephen Jobson Mitchual, Vice Chancellor (VC) of the UEW in his sessional address, appreciated the invaluable support the government had been providing to the university.

Reflecting on some important national developments, the VC stated that UEW had watched with interest the leadership style of President John Mahama and the decisive actions taken to promote Ghana’s socio-economic development.

He also appreciated his call for transparency and stronger collective efforts in fighting illegal mining.

“Your determination motivates us and as an academic community, UEW will continue providing research-based insights, constructive feedback and meaningful contributions to support the national fight against illegal mining, also known as galamsey.”

According to him, the recent directive by Mr Iddrisu, regarding the use of Ghanaian languages as the medium of instruction from KG to primary three, ignited important national discussions.

He said the university with a mandate to lead teacher education in Ghana, was in support of that policy move with the belief that its implementation would be guided by sound professional expertise from language education, pedagogy and curriculum development.

The VC affirmed UEW’s unwavering dedication to transforming knowledge into a force for enlightenment and empowerment to drive development now and in future generations.

“We are equally proud to acknowledge the generous support of our partners: World Medical Relief, for their remarkable donation of medical equipment (soon to be delivered) and the Ghana Health Service, for their invaluable contribution of additional equipment worth GH¢1 million.

“We hope these tremendous acts of support, will significantly enhance our hospital’s capacity and strengthen our mission of providing quality healthcare services to our cherished community and beyond, Prof Mitchual added.