DACE ORGANISES A THREE-DAY ORIENTATION PROGRAMME FOR FRESH STUDENTS
As part of the College’s effort to get the level 100 students acclimatised with their new environment, Dambai College of Education, through the Guidance and Counselling Unit, has organized a three-day orientation programme for fresh students. The orientation programme which started on Wednesday, 19th January, 2022 and ended on Friday, 21st January, 2022, was held at the College’s Pavilion.
In her address, the Principal of the College, Dr. (Mrs.) Benedicta Atiku formerly welcomed all members of the College Community to the ceremony. She also congratulated the fresh students on their admission into Dambai College of Education. She assured the fresh students that it is for a divine purpose that they have come to the College; therefore, their aim of coming to the school must be achieved. She further stated that all the students have been destined for success and that would be their portion. She however cautioned that the students also have roles to play in order to be successful. Therefore, she entreated all the fresh students to take seriously, the opportunity given them to study a four-year Bachelor of Education Degree at Dambai College of Education.
The first day of the orientation programme exposed the freshers to what Bachelor of Education programme stands for, even as the history of the College was shared with them. Presentations were done by Heads of Department on the academic programmes run by the various departments of the College. Issues concerning catering services of the institution were also made available to the freshers by the Chief Matron of the College.
The Dean of Students, Mr. Samuel Abortowuro, in his presentation enlightened the freshers on management of student life. Some of the issues dealt with by the Dean of Students were: social life, discipline, and clubs and associations. Hall tutors took their turns to talk to fresh students about the various halls of residence and reasons behind the names of their halls. Presentations were also done by various Unit Heads of the College; that is, Heads of ICT, Gender, Safe Space and Sexual Harassment and Guidance and Counselling Units.
The first presentation on the second day was done by the Academic Affairs/Assessment Officer, Mr. Seth Oppong Mensah on “Academic and Assessment Related Issues”. Mr. Seth Oppong Mensah admonished the student teachers to learn hard and excel because the sole aim of every student is to learn. He said 60% of the teaching and learning is done by the student, so, students must attend lectures to get the right understanding of topics/strands. He advised that students must visit the library regularly to read and do more research.
Mr. Oppong Mensah also informed the fresh students that examination at the College level is based on the National Teacher Assessment standards; hence, they must pass at least, 60% of continuous assessment and end-of-semester examinations of their registered courses.
The Academic Affairs/Assessment Officer further emphasized the importance of subject portfolio and project work as part of the continuous assessment. He pointed out that any student who would fail any paper would write a re-sit exam and it would be paid for. He further cautioned students against examination malpractices and warned that it is punishable and they must not attempt to cheat during exams. He again created the awareness among students that all tutors of the College and external supervisors are aware of students’ cheating strategies. He also took the students through the grading system of the colleges of education. The outgoing Academic Affairs/Assessment Officer of the College, Mr. Frederick K. Togah also took students through the process of getting themselves registered for courses.
In his presentation, the Quality Assurance Officer of the College, Mr. Burukum Achor simply defined quality assurance as “doing what is right all the time when nobody is watching you”. He explained that processes and products produced by the College must always meet international standard. He enumerated the roles of the quality assurance office and said they do assessment of teaching and learning process and ensure Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of tutors and student teachers. He also said that quizzes and exam processes are of national and international standards. He informed the gathering that Dambai College of Education is noted for sanity in examinations. Mr. Brukum Achor concluded that students should do the right things when no one watches them.
Commenting on quality assurance issues, the Vice Principal said the Quality Assurance Unit ensures that First Class is truly First Class, Second Class is truly Second Class and Third Class is truly Third Class. He told students that anyone of them who commits the crime of leaking exam questions through the social media will be dismissed and the student’s dismissal letter would be circulated in all colleges of education. He reported that there are six (6) colleges under University for Development Studies (UDS).
The last day of the orientation programme saw presentations from personnel from Krachi-East Municipal Health Directorate. The two-member team was made up of Mr. James Dupey, the Nutrition Officer in charge of School Screening Activities in the Krachi-East Municipality and Miss. Celestine Dzade, a Nurse from Dambai Health Centre.
According to the Nutrition Officer, typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that can spread throughout the body affecting many organs. Without prompt treatment, it can cause serious complications and can be fatal. It is caused by a bacterium called salmonella enterica serotype typhi bacteria. The bacteria are deposited in water or food by a human carrier and are then spread to other people in the area (i.e., it is communicable). He told the gathering that typhoid fever is prevalent in Dambai Community because the water bodies in the area have been contaminated by human activities such as disposing of urine, faeces or bathing/swimming in them. He cautioned the students to be careful whenever they want to buy food from the streets. They should always patronize hot cooked food items. He also said that the bacteria can survive for weeks in water or dried sewage. He said typhoid fever is contracted by buying and eating food from infected persons and drinking unhygienic water, eating faeces or eating raw food without washing it.
The nutritionist outlined headache, waist/body pain, nausea, abdominal pain and body weakness as the symptoms of typhoid fever. According to him, the following are some of the ways to prevent typhoid fever:
- Regular washing of hands
- Eating warm foods since the bacteria could not survive around 40oC to 50oC temperature.
- Home remedies but cautioned that some of these remedies can affect kidney function.
The orientation programme ended with a familiarization tour, as the freshers were taken to important places/facilities in within the College and Dambai town.
SOURCE: DACE Editorial Board
