British High Commissioner to Ghana delivers lecture at UCC

The British High Commissioner to Ghana, His Excellency, Iain Walker, has indicated that the United Kingdom (UK) will continue to partner the government of Ghana and tertiary institutions to enhance quality education in the country.

Commissioner Walker gave the assurance when he delivered a lecture on the topic “Ghana “UK Relations” on campus.

Education is Cornerstone of Development

The British High Commissioner noted that education was the cornerstone of critical thinking and creativity. According to him, it was for that reason that the United Kingdom (UK) had over the years invested over £400 million in Ghana’s education sector which had resulted in the training of quality teacher for all the levels of the country’s education system.

He said through the Chevening and the Department for International Development (DFID) sponsored Commonwealth Shared Scholarships, opportunities have been provided to Ghanaians to study in top universities in the United Kingdom.

He particularly said that DFID has supported UCC to train teachers for basic schools in the country.

He added that “The British Council’s programme for schools, Connecting Classrooms, has helped to improve learning outcomes for students and also offers a range of activities for teachers, school leaders and other education officials to improve quality education in the country”.

UK-Ghana Bilateral Relations

Commissioner Walker noted that UK and Ghana have always collaborated and, therefore, there was the need to share experiences and learn from each other.

“The warmth of friendship between the UK and Ghana is commendable because in a globalised world, there are challenges, however, with collaboration, we will succeed in addressing them through research and partnerships,” he explained.

The British High Commissioner said the President of Ghana’s vision for a self-reliant country was inspiring and would contribute to the long term development of the country.

He averred that it was important for developing countries to find a sustainable path to become self-reliant, however, “the Ghana Beyond Aid should address why there are good economic indicators but no self-reliance for the poor and marginalised in the country”.

UCC’s Collaboration with UK Universities

On his part, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, said UCC was in collaboration with numerous UK universities. He, therefore, called on the High Commissioner to assist the University to deepen the collaboration with its partner institutions.

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“There have been instances where we need to visit our partner institutions in the UK for exchange programmes but application for visa for staff and students has sometimes been refused so we are appealing to you to help us in this regard”

He also appealed to the High Commissioner to help increase the Commonwealth Scholarship slot to the University to enable more staff and students to further their education in the UK.

Prof. Ampiah said the University was a key partner in the Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) programme with sponsorship from the UK government.

He said UCC would position itself to have a mutually beneficial relationship with the UK High Commission.