President of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association (CETAG) is pushing for a larger discussion about the relevance of boarding and dining hall systems in today's colleges of Education.

President of the CETAG, Prince Obeng Himah, does not prefer solutions himself, but he does advocate for a broad society discussion in order to develop a consensus and provide a clear policy direction.

"For a question that we all need to answer sincerely, whether the boarding system we operate in the colleges is something that is relevant and we have continue with it. Whether the feeding and dining hall system is something we need to continue. Whether the uniform the students is something that we have to continue," he emphasised.

Mr. Himah encourages Ghanaians to participate in the discussion in order to identify the greatest form structure for everyone's benefit.

He also addresses the topic of student allowance, stating that the funds used to pay students can be used to fund facilities such as science laboratories, lecture halls, and accommodation, allowing students to apply for student loans just like any other tertiary students in the country.

He believes that while students will protest, they will eventually recognize the importance of directing such funds into development.

"For anything to start, the students will kick against it. But if they sit, reflect and get to know that at the end of the day, the money will go into giving them infrastructure, I think they will buy into it," he said.

Mr. Himah was speaking at the colleges of education and social education research journal multidisciplinary research conference at Nsuta in the Ashanti Region on the theme: Education in Emergency Situations: Prospects and Challenges.

Due to the interruption of academic work caused by the covid-19 epidemic, he pleads for motivation for teachers who must teach throughout the year without a break.

He claims that working year-round is against any labor legislation, thus the Ghana Colleges of Education Professors Association and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission will meet to discuss how to compensate teachers who must stay and teach for a year.

"We have already started conversation with the administrator, principals and in the coming weeks, we gonna meet with GTEC to have a conversation around it. So that we see how best to compensate the teachers who have to stay on and teach for 12 months within the year."

He states that working year-round is against any labor legislation, thus the Ghana Colleges of Education Professors Association and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission will meet to discuss how to compensate teachers who must stay and teach for a year.

Another point of discussion at the conference is the daily student feeding at the colleges.

Mr Himah bemoans over 6.5 cedis daily feeding for each student at the colleges that need to be looked at.

"I think I need to commend them. They are magicians," he bemoaned.

He indicates that, despite rising prices of goods and services, colleges of education have had to rely on the same amount for the past five years.

"If we really want to feed the students, we should feed them well on campus."

He appeals to authorities to come in and provide adequate living conditions for students so that they can attain their educational goals.

The goal of the two-day conference is to create a network of researchers, leaders, and policymakers who will be able to collaborate to identify innovative solutions to Ghana's educational challenges.

It will help raise the public's awareness of Colleges of Education teachers and their contributions.