The Komenda College of Education (KOMENCO) has marked its maiden Founders Day with a call on stakeholders to collectively work towards transforming the institution into a university college.
The Day was celebrated to commemorate the struggles, contributions and achievements of the College’s three founders, who, by dint of handwork, established the school.
An annual public lecture, dubbed: “Sam-Creedy-Komeh-Ababio Annual Memorial Lecture” has also been instituted as part of the Founders Day celebration.
The late Mr Abraham Brew-Sam, Mr Lawrence Alfred Creedy, and Nana Komeh Ababio VI, were celebrated to mark their legacy of excellence and hard work.
According to history Mr Brew-Sam, who served as a Regent and First Board Chairman of the College, facilitated the release of the current premises, one of the Second World War abandoned buildings, to the College through consistent interactions and engagements with the chiefs.
Mr Creedy was the first and only missionary principal of the Komenda College and a public signatory to the Methodist Church’s deeds of foundation from 1948 to 1962, while Nana Ababio VI was the then Omanhen of the Komenda Traditional Area, who brought a number of development projects during his reign.
Professor Dora Edu-Buandoh, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), who gave the lecture, on the theme: ”Our History, Our values, Our Future,” called for infrastructural development to facilitate the transformation of the College into a university college.
“It will depend on the intense efforts of stakeholders to address the infrastructural and other challenges of the school,” she noted.
“The Founders did their part by sacrificing and committing to the establishment of the college and through their efforts, we are counting our gains.”
Prof Edu-Buandoh urged the College’s stakeholders to use the Founders Day as an opportunity to embrace change, forge ahead in unity and commit resources to develop the school into a beacon of quality teacher education in Ghana and beyond.
Speaking on values, Prof Edu-Buandoh, a past student, admonished the managers of the College to continue to hold on to the virtues of academic excellence, service to God and humanity.
Such values, over the years, had instilled a sense of commitment, discipline and self-actualisation in the students, making them stand tall among their peers in the past 70 years of delivering quality teacher education in Ghana, she said.
“We must stand on the pillars of our values and work together to physically and spiritually develop the College. The Church, past students, Council and management of KOMENCO all have roles to play,” she stated.
“We will, by determination, build our college to a level, which will fit our vision of setting the pace for excellence.”
Prof Edu-Buando charged the Komenda Old Students Association (KOSA) to commit their funds, knowledge and networking to support the management of the College.
“We need to be selfless because we owe it to Komenda College, we should never forget the hand that fed us, let us continue to do what we are doing with much more efforts,” she said.
The Very Reverend Kwesi Nkum Wilson, the Principal of the College, said it started with a student population of 40 but now had over 1,400 students.
He charged KOSA and all other stakeholders to help lobby for good infrastructure to help boost effective teaching and learning.
KOSA, as part of the celebration, honoured Prof Eric Nyarko-Sampson, also an old boy, on his appointment to the high office of Vice Chancellor of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development.
GNA
