Five hundred and twenty-six (526) teachers on Saturday graduated at the maiden graduation ceremony of the Al-Faruq College of Education at a special ceremony at Wenchi in the Bono region.
The graduated teachers were made up of three cohorts put together comprising of two hundred and seventy-two males and two hundred and fifty-four females and were presented with diplomas and degrees after their successful completion of their prescribed programmes of study under the mentorship of the University of Cape Coast.
Out of the 526, 13 of them took home second class (Upper Division), 24 had Second class (Lower Division) and 36 received Third class while the remaining 68 had a Pass honours.
In his welcome address, the Principal of Al-Faruq College of Education, Mr Wahab Sualihu, commended the founding and spiritual fathers’ of the College, the Wenchi Traditional Authority and all others through whose effort the institution has been able to perform its maiden graduation ceremony.
Again, he lauded the effort of the teaching and non-teaching staff of the College who have been sacrificing and making effort towards a great feat for the institution.
He described the institution as the best COE in the country explaining that despite all the numerous challenges confronting the young institutions, it had been able to chalk a great feat in both academics and other areas of endeavour.
Lack of infrastructure
The Principal mentioned the lack of infrastructure as the major challenge confronting the operations of the College and appealed to the government to motivate contractors to go back to continue all stalled projects.
Again, he mentioned lack of vehicles was among the challenges confronting the movement of students, tutors and other staff of the institution.
The Bono Regional Minister, Madam Justina Owusu Banahene, who was the Guest of Honour at the function, lauded the Board, Staff and Management of the College for their efforts towards the feat chalked by the institution despite all the challenges it had faced over the years.
She stated that the role of teachers in the development of a nation cannot be underestimated as they were not just architects of academic knowledge but also the builders of character and values that contribute to the holistic development of not only the individual to be economically self-reliant but also to be socio-economic development of the nation.
Expanding Arabic Education
A Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Business School, Prof. Naail Mohammed Kamil, who was the Guest Speaker at the graduation ceremony, enumerated the various benefits the nation could gain if the teaching and learning of Arabic is taken seriously.
He lauded the Staff, Management and Board of the College for being the only College of Education in the country that pursues Arabic at the College of Education level and called for many others to consider pursuing Arabic to increase graduates with Arabic knowledge to enjoy the benefits that come with.
Background
The Al-Faruq College of Education started as a private school by name Wenchi Education Complex (WEDCO).
It was established, managed and sponsored by a Saudi Arabian Non-Governmental Organisation, Al-Muntada Al-Islami, to provide quality secular and Islamic education to the poor and needy, especially the Zongo communities.
It has since then gone through various transformations and in 2016, it admitted 205 students after it was absorbed by the government to operate as a college of Education. The College now has a total population of 1,177 students.
The College runs Bachelor of Education in Early-Grade, Primary Education and Junior High School Education.
By Felix Baidoo
