The Office responsible for organising and coordinating the Students Internship Programme (SIP) in the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) is reforming its operations to render better service to the University students.
Among the reforms is the outfit’s shift away from paperwork to electronic/online means in its operations.
It is also engaging in series of workshops for AAMUSTED students (Mentees), the University Lecturers (Internship Supervisors), and Teachers of Basic and Senior High Schools with whom AAMUSTED students practice as intern teachers (Mentors).
Speaking at the opening section of one of the workshops for Mentors at Wadoma Hotel, Abuakwa near Kumasi, on February 3, 2021, the Coordinator of the SIP, Mr. Ficus Gyasi, said the reforms are towards improving the Programme further for better results.
For instance, he said the workshops are already achieving a common understanding among stakeholders – Supervisors, Mentors, and Mentees – regarding the actual targets and objectives of the SIP.
“We have already completed workshops for the Mentees and the Internship Supervisors. From January 27 – 29, and February 3-5, 2021, we have been engaging over 100 of our Mentors from the Northern and Southern Sectors of the country in workshops to equip them for higher quality performance (Mentoring) on the SIP,” he added.
The Coordinator said the outfit has also created a specialised Software Application to monitor stakeholder activities effectively. “This same Application provides a good and expeditious means for communication between the outfit and its stakeholders as well as among the Mentees, Mentors, and Internship Supervisors themselves,” he added.
As he indicated the University’s determination to strengthen the SIP as a way of offering better professional training to students towards improving performance in the country’s education sector, Mr. Gyasi emphasised that the SIP is a mandatory component of the training that AAMUSTED offers to all its regular students to qualify for graduation.
On behalf of the Acting Vice-Chancellor of AAMUSTED, Prof. Frederick K. Sarfo, the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Communication Sciences (FECS), Dr. Samuel Adu Gyamfi, earlier opened the workshop officially.
He accentuated the importance of the SIP in the training of AAMUSTED students and therefore, encouraged the participants to see their mentorship role in the SIP as a crucial Community Service to be done with all diligence to achieve high results.
In that regard, he advised them to take seriously all that would be taught them at the workshop since the impact on their performances as mentors and teachers could not be overly-emphasised.
“Your current responsibilities might not change because of this workshop, but if we learn well, we will go back to do the same things with a new approach to achieve better results,” he added.
Expert facilitators, including Madam Cecilia Quansah, former Head of Department of Languages Education, AAMUSTED, Mr. Frank Owusu Sekyere, former Coordinator, CETDAR, and Mr. Raphael Dzakpasu, Senior Lecturer, AAMUSTED, handled various topics for the workshop.
Examples of the topics are; Goals and Objectives of the SIP; Concept and Processes of Mentoring; The Teacher as a Reflective Practitioner/Teaching Portfolio; Teaching Philosophy, Development Skills; Effective Use of Interns’ Assessment Instruments (Teaching Videos); Counselling and Practical Activities; Teaching and Assessment in Subject-Specific Areas; and Practical Supervision with Video.
