The Dean of Continuing and Distance Education, Professor Samuel Amponsah, says the University of Ghana College of Education is expanding access to higher education through distance learning, fully online programmes and a growing range of specialised academic offerings designed to meet the changing needs of learners and professionals.

Speaking on JoyFM Super Morning Show on Friday, August 28, Prof Amponsah said the School of Continuing and Distance Education continues to play an important role in providing flexible learning opportunities to students across the country.

“At the School of Continuing and Distance Education, we host the distance education programme,” he said.

According to Prof. Amponsah, the distance education programme operates through 11 centres and currently offers five diploma programmes and three degree programmes.

He said the university was also responding to changing educational needs by introducing innovative programmes, including Educational Technology.

“Just last year I led the department to kickstart its first homegrown programme, Educational Technology, which is fully online, fully online,” Prof. Amponsah said.

He explained that the School of Continuing and Distance Education also offers a number of programmes in Adult Education, including Human Resource Development, Professional Development and Development Education.

“We’ve been running the Human Resource Development, Professional Development, and then Development Education that rolled out last year from first degree up to PhD,” he said.

Prof. Amponsah added that about seven new programmes had also been introduced at various levels, including Youth Development and Leadership.

Turning to the School of Education and Leadership, Prof. Amponsah said the school offers postgraduate programmes in areas including Educational Leadership and Management, Educational Innovations and Educational Pedagogy.

He also disclosed that Teacher Education currently has about 20 degree programmes, developed through collaboration with various departments across the university.

“It’s a partnership with almost every department in the university,” he explained.

He said the programmes cover a broad range of academic disciplines.

“So from VA, dance, to archaeology, to engineering, to everything, you find it there,” Prof. Amponsah said.

Sports management programme

Prof. Amponsah further highlighted an innovative programme in Management and Leadership in Sports being offered by the Department of Physical Education and Sports.

He expressed particular interest in the programme and encouraged people involved in football and other sporting disciplines to acquire formal training in sports management and leadership.

According to Prof. Amponsah, the programme has already begun attracting considerable interest.

“In fact, they’ve started getting a lot of traction,” he said.

78th Annual New Year’s Conference

Prof. Amponsah also highlighted the university’s Annual New Year’s Conference, which he described as one of its flagship programmes.

He disclosed that preparations were already underway for the 78th edition of the conference, scheduled for the second week of January.

“We have already started planning for the 78th, which will be the second week of January,” he said.

The conference is expected to focus on topical national issues, including economic stability, sustainability and Ghana’s strategic direction in the post-IMF era.

Prof. Amponsah expressed confidence that the President of Ghana would once again open the programme.

The professor said the range of programmes offered by the two schools reflects the university’s broader commitment to expanding access to higher education while responding to emerging needs in education, technology, leadership and professional development.