Management of the University of Ghana has commissioned its refurbished academic facilities to aid effective teaching and learning.
The facilities are, the Department of Computer Science, the Oracca Tetteh/Larwey building, the staff learning and resource centre, the University of Ghana Toyota Training Centre, modernised classrooms at the University of Ghana Medical School, and modernised classrooms at the Accra City Campus.
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana, said the university launched the modernisation of classrooms project in 2022 to make technology accessible to students and enhance teaching and learning.
Over the past 70 years, the University has struggled to maintain classroom infrastructure to match the exponential growth in its student population, of which the challenge appears to be driven by its dependence on the government through GETFund for infrastructure support.
Also, the surge in student population in the last few years has been driven by the dynamics of the Senior High School (SHS) system, including the free SHS policy, which has resulted in increased enrolment in the second-cycle institutions.
The Vice-Chancellor said the challenges had necessitated the University to initiate programmes to expand and modernise the classroom infrastructure, through the fullest integration of technology, to pursue its agenda of delivering excellence in teaching and learning.
The initiative would make the University’s degrees and other academic qualifications accessible to all willing and qualified candidates within and outside the country.
She stressed that, the expansion and modernisation solution involved the construction, refurbishment, and installation of information technology equipment and gadgets, as well as their integration into the University’s learning management system to allow for both synchronous and asynchronous virtual learning.
Prof. Amfo stated that the initiative would create an appropriate learning environment for face-to-face lectures and allow for off-site learning and examinations to manage the large student population.
She said equitable support would also be provided through the initiative to enable differently-abled students to fully participate in teaching and learning activities.
The 1996-year group of the University of Ghana Medical School donated 16 microscopes, four cameras compatible with the system, and audio-virtual connectivity between five venues—the auditorium, dissection room, histology, biochemistry, and animal physiology laboratories—to the classrooms of Ghana Medical School at the Korle-Bu Hospital.
Prof. Amfo commended the 1996-year group for their support and called for a maintenance plan to ensure that equipment was well maintained.
Prof. Boateng Onwona-Agyeman, Provost, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, touching on the collaboration between the University and the Toyota team, said the partnership would expose students to the facility and give them hands-on experience on the field.
