More than 3,700 qualified students denied admission to Accra College of Education

A total of 3,717 qualified students who applied for admission to Accra College of Education (ACCE) in the Greater Accra region, for the 2020-2021 academic year, were refused admission.

This is due to infrastructure issues, said Dr Samuel Awinkene Atintono, the college principal, at the college’s third enrollment ceremony.

He said that out of a total of 5,098 applications received by the college this year, 4,137 were eligible for admission.

The principal, however, said only 420 of the eligible applicants had been admitted to offer four-year courses in different specialty areas, accounting for 10% of the total figure, leaving the 3,717 to their fate.

“There were indeed many eligible applicants to whom we could not propose admission for many reasons. When students have excellent grades but cannot be admitted to college, that should be of concern to us, ”he lamented.

Dr Attintono said the 420 applicants who gained admission this year were an improvement over the 350 admitted by the College last year, a 20% increase.

“This is our modest contribution to welcoming the first batch of Free Senior High School (FSHS) graduates,” added Dr Atintono.

Of the number that was admitted, he said 225, or 54% were men, while the remaining 195, or 46%, were women, adding that the College had increased its female enrollment by 22% from 28% from last year, to 46%. this year, saying the institution is on track to achieve its 50% gender parity each by 2024.

He said 40 of the admitted students enrolled for first grade education, 115 for primary education while the remaining 265 were admitted to junior secondary education.

The principal said that despite the challenges of the College, he remained committed to providing quality training for teachers to become professionally competent.

Dr Attitono said that to improve teaching and learning on campus, he is currently seeking support from government and private investors in various projects, including the provision of a modern center for information technology and communication (TIC), construction of a hostel and accommodation for staff, creation of a sick bay college and rehabilitation of the college buildings.

He said the college has also taken steps to strengthen academic counseling units and appointed a career counseling and guidance coordinator, to help students who may have difficulty adjusting to the learning strategies of the Middle School.

The director urged the students to take advantage of the many academic and non-academic staff to achieve their goal.

Dr Atintono commended the government for its continued support to the College towards achieving full higher education status.

ACCE, formerly Accra Teacher Training College (ATTRACO) was established on September 8, 1909. It is one of 46 teaching colleges in the country.

The College became one of six education colleges in the country affiliated with the University of Ghana, Legon, after signing an affiliation agreement in 2019.

— citinewsroom