Komenda College Of Education Remembers Founding Fathers

Komenda College of Education in the Central Region occasionally holds public lectures so students and staff can imbibe its vision and mission to succeed. The event also commemorates the institution’s founders and their contributions towards formal education development in Ghana.

The Methodist Church established Komenda College of Education in 1948.

The fourth of such Founders’ Day lectures, held at the Robert Mensah Complex Hall of Komenda College on the theme “Lawrence Alfred Creedy and the Development of Teacher Education in Ghana, 1948-1962”, attracted traditional rulers, past students of the college and several dignitaries from the central region and beyond.

In his welcome address, the principal, Very Reverend Prof. Kwesi Nkum Wilson, eulogized Abraham Brew Sam, Nana Komeh Ababio, and Lawrence Alfred Creedy for establishing the Komenda College of Education.

He noted that the college organizes the Founders’ Lectures to commemorate the instituters and to inspire others to appreciate the benefits of teacher education in Ghana.

The Very Reverend Professor Kwesi Nkum Wilson listed pig rearing, coconut cultivation, cattle rearing, beekeeping, and many others as the college’s projects to generate funds internally to empower itself economically.

He said the college offers sign language to respond to the needs of the college as a tertiary institution and promote inclusive education.

The Vice Dean at the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Education, Winneba, Prof. Akwasi Kwarteng Amoako-Gyampah, who was the Guest Speaker for the fourth Founders’ Lectures, took the gatherings through the history of the college.

He disclosed that Komenda College of Education started out of the buildings (Barracks) left by the Fleet Air Arm of the British Navy after World War II.

Through the efforts of Mr. A.B. Sam, regent of Komenda, the legacy was leased to the Methodist Church, Ghana, in 1947 to be used as a training college.

The government renovated the buildings to make them suitable for educational use. On March 11, 1948, the first batch of students numbering 40 men was enrolled to start an initial 2-year Teacher’s Cert ‘B’ programme.

In 1952, the college became a co-educational institution with its first batch of 30 women.

The first principal was Mr. Lawrence Alfred Creedy, a British citizen, who valued rich African cultural practices and therefore, decided to use talking drums to assemble students and inform them of changes in lessons instead of resorting to ringing bells.

He noted that the Methodist church desired to name the institution after the church. But that desire could not work after the government had renovated the barracks for academic work.

Prof. Akwasi Kwarteng Amoako-Gyampah also attributed names like Mbabawa for girls, panyinfo, edzikanfo, and adontehenfo for seniors, and the use of ofiepanyin for school prefects.

He praised Mr. Alfred Creedy for the college’s motto, “Bepowso Kurow Hyeren”, which translates into ‘A City On A Hill Shines Bright’.

He noted that if principals of Colleges of Education and the Ghana Education Service were so passionate about preserving the rich cultural beliefs and practices of the nation, education would be more meaningful and profitable than in recent times.

Prof. Amoako-Gyampah finally praised Alfred Creedy for introducing outreach programs that saw students visit neighboring communities like Abrobeano, and Kafodzidzi to enhance their knowledge, improve learning, and inspire rural dwellers to go to school.

According to Prof. Akwasi Kwarteng Amoako-Gyampah, Lawrence Alfred Creedy’s contributions laid the academic and moral foundation for the Komenda College of Education.

He inspired the students to exhibit such qualities for Ghana’s well-being and future generations.

Mary Snypper-Gyan, a 1957 graduate, reminisced about her days at the college, saying Mr. Lawrence Creedy, may his soul rest in peace, was a great man who never lacked anything because of his good deeds and love for grooming students. She therefore advised teachers to be dedicated to nurturing students.

The Central Regional Minister, Eduamoah Ekow Panyin Okyere, also a 1992 product of the college, praised the management for their efficiency, which has improved the quality of teacher education over the years.

He urged the leadership to enroll more students, following the college’s elevation as a degree-awarding tertiary institution of the college’s status to a degree awarding institution, and produce more teachers to augment the current teacher population nationwide.

He made a passionate appeal to the Methodist church of Ghana to encourage political participation among members. He said as many Christians are into partisan politics, Ghana will become a better place and immorality and corruption will be minimized.

Mr. Eduamoah bemoaned the sanitation challenges confronting the central region. This, he lamented, has led to a cholera outbreak. He disclosed that the region spends over GHS50,000 daily on these cholera patients. This situation, he said, derails Central Region’s physical and economic development agenda, appealing to citizens to eschew littering the environment.

He echoed the government’s willingness to continue paying trainee teachers’ and nurses’ allowances as captured in the first 2025 budget. He also asked the students to support all educational initiatives for a better future.

The former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist church, Most Rev Titus Awotwe-Pratt, on behalf of Most Reverend Prof. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, pledged the church’s commitment to supporting the growth of the college.

He called for the proper moral upbringing of students in the country. He urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other stakeholders to strengthen preschool education to build a solid learning foundation for Ghanaian children.

Most Rev Titus Awotwe-Pratt pleaded with politicians to respect leaders in the country. This, he explained when done will avert situations where some politicians take undue advantage to speak to the citizenry anyhow.