IEPA HOLDS WORKSHOP ON EDUCATION 2030 AGENDA

The Institute for Educational Planning and Administration has as its mandate to conduct research, provide innovative and quality professional training and consultancy aimed at improving educational practitioners’ capabilities and levels of competence and involvement in their areas of operations for sustainable development in both the public and private sectors. Through seminars, workshops and university teaching, the IEPA is expected to train leaders, planners and administrators, as well as experts and generalists in the field of education.   In particular, IEPA primarily aims to: 1.    Undertake research in educational leadership and management 2.    Provide training and facilitation  to improve the leadership and managerial  capabilities of educational administrators and planners 3.    Provide technical assistance and policy advice on issues related to educational planning  and administration   4.    Develop links with various agencies in education and other sectors, particularly the IIEP, for mutual engagements on educational issues 5.    Promote professional standards among  educational managers and planners through the establishment of a professional body/association and collaborations  with other  national and international bodies It is in this light of the above, that a workshop on the Education 2030 Agenda was held at the IEPA Conference Room on 4th May 2017. The Theme for the Workshop was “Global Development Goals and Education.” ▪    The purpose of the workshop was to equip senior members and research assistants with the understandings on issues of the Education 2030 Agenda and its implications for IEPA to be able to play its role in its implementation.  Other lecturers from the College of Education Studies were also invited.  The resource person for the workshop was Prof. Yaw Afari Ankomah, an expert in the area and who also happens to be with Institute.  Topics discussed at the workshop included the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Education for All (EFA), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with emphasis on SDG 4 and the Education 2030 Agenda. At the end of the presentation, Prof. Ankomah stated that there is the need for a deliberate effort at doing many things. He made the following recommendations  for education to be transformative in support of the new sustainable development agenda :  ▪    Articulation of clear and shared understandings of what ‘relevant and effective learning outcomes’ are  ▪    More rigorous approach towards monitoring the content of education, what is taught in classrooms, as well as the contents of teacher education programmes ▪    Curricula and textbooks to feature adequately in what is meant as education  quality and not just a focus on learning outcomes ▪    Deliberate provision and monitoring of a fuller range of lifelong learning opportunities, including adult education; ▪    Putting in place effective strategies to directly monitor adult literacy skills ▪    Engaging community leadership in educational provision and  school governance ▪    Producing appropriate learning materials and preparing teachers to teach in mother languages and ▪    Providing political and financial support for planning and implementation of education in all forms.

There were eleven participants in all including the Director of IEPA, Dr. (Mrs.) Rosemary Bosu who officially opened the workshop. At the end of the workshop, participants expressed the view that the content of the  workshop would be beneficial to the entire University Community and therefore recommended  that a similar workshop should be organised  both at the level of the College of Education Studies and at the University  level as a  whole .