The Institute for Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development (ITECPD) in the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) organised a day’s meeting with stakeholders on the implementation of the National Teacher Education Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Strategy and Action Plan 2020-25.   

Participants included staff from a number of departments in UEW including Gender Mainstreaming Directorate, Department of Special Education, Department of Basic Education and from Transforming Teaching, Education & Learning (T-TEL).

University staff received updates on progress made against the National Teacher Education GESI Strategy and Action Plan including implementation of   GESI Action Plans in the University of Winneba’s affiliated Colleges of Education.

T-TEL and UEW discussed ways in which they can jointly support GESI implementation in Colleges of Education. This includes the possible development of a Payment by Results (PbR) mechanism to incentivize and encourage implementation of GESI Action Plans.

Speaking on behalf of the University of Education, the Director of ITECPD, Prof. Dandy George Dampson, expressed warm appreciation to the participants, especially the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate.

“I am happy that the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate is here. We are going to partner with the GESI team from T-TEL to undertake a lot of activities. I believe that just after this meeting, the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate will liaise with ITECPD to get a proposal in place so that we could move from College to College and from University to University to hammer home and to bridge the gap between what is there and what needs to be there,” he said. 

                                                                       Prof. Dandy George Dampson, speaking on behalf of UEW

T-TEL’s University Coordinator for UEW, Ms. Hawa Nindow, noted that T-TEL was willing to support UEW and its 15 affiliate Colleges of Education to  achieve the changes that they all desire.

                                       T-TEL’s University Coordinator for UEW Ms. Hawa Nindow

“We aim to influence every part of the institution so that every Faculty, Department and Institute in UEW is touched and understands the importance of GESI. Since 2018 T-TEL has done a lot of work with Colleges of Education to support positive changes in GESI attitudes, behaviours and outcomes. We look forward to working with UEW so that we build on this progress.,” she noted.

Ms. Dinah Adiko, T-TEL’s Key Advisor for GESI, noted that UEW had made positive strides in implementing their sexual harassment policy and that it was now important that they extended these efforts to their affiliated Colleges of Education to build on progress made to date.  

                                                                            Ms. Dinah Adiko, T-TEL’s Key Advisor for GESI

She further noted that, “Social inclusion is a system where we are paying attention to all the other disadvantaged groups that exist within the education system. GESI is not only focusing on gender, but it is also focusing on inclusion of all the wider groups. At the end of it, equality and inclusion are the goals and so social and gender defines the level of diversity we seek to address.”

UEW Heads of Department present included Prof. Sakina Acquah (Basic Education), Ms. Eva Annan (Gender Mainstreaming), Dr. Daniel Dogbe (SPED) and Mr. Charles N. Annobil, Centre for Continuing Professional Development, ITECPD.

Source : UEW