On Friday November 13, 2020, Accra College of Education held its first investiture at the College Auditorium to officially usher in Dr Samuel Awinkene Atintono as the 7th Principal of the College. The ceremony hosted some dignitaries and guests in the likes of
- Hon. Lydia Alhassan, Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon
- Mempeasem Traditional Council
- AcCE Governing Council Members
- PRINCOF
- Prof. D.D Kuupole, Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast
- Mrs. Christiana Bampo Henaku, Former Principal of AcCE
- University of Ghana Representatives
- University of Cape Coast Representatives
- NCTE Representative
- National Teaching Council Representatives
- Staff of AcCE
- Staff of AcCE Demonstration school
- T-TEL Representative
- AcCE SRC
- Family and friends of Dr Atintono
- AcCE Alumni
Prior to the event, a committee chaired by the Vice Principal of the College, Mrs. Elizabeth Aikins was set up to oversee the planning and organizing of the investiture. This committee was made up of sub committees which were assigned to focus on specific tasks to ensure the success of the program. Below are the various sub committees and their specific tasks
The Publicity Committee
This committee chaired by Rev. Sr Faustina Ganaa was to take charge everything involving the advertisements, invitations, program design and Brochure.
The Protocol Committee
This committee was chaired by Dr. Bernice Oteng and their main role was to create a welcoming environment for the various dignitaries and guests who would be attending the event by attending to their needs.
Grounds and Venue Committee
This committee chaired by Mr. David Ankutse was tasked to ensure that the event venue was well furnished and prepared to befit the occasion. The investiture committee through the venue committee was able to acquire a permanent ceremonial chair for the College which will be used for subsequent investiture programs.
Entertainment Committee
The committee was chaired by Mr. Cidi Ocloo. They were responsible for coordinating music/entertainment for the event.
Refreshment Committee
This committee chaired by Mrs Juliana Dontoh was tasked with providing water, drinks and the menu for the investiture.
The investiture committee as a whole worked diligently to ensure that everything was in place to make the first ever investiture a well-organized and successful event.
The ceremony started at 11:00 am with an opening prayer by the College chaplain, Rev. Sr. Faustina Ganaa, followed by a minute of silence in memory of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, former President of the Republic of Ghana who had passed on a day before the investiture.
The Secretary of the College, Mr. Clement Afriyie Oppong who was also the Master of Ceremony for the investiture stated the purpose of the gathering and officially welcomed everyone present.
The constitution of assembly was then declared by Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel Sylvanus Mensah Torto, Chairman of the Governing Council of AcCE, after which he gave a welcome Address.
The Council Chairman assisted by Rev. Fr. Francis Destiny Amenuvor and the College Chaplain were called upon to dedicate the symbol of office and to administer the oath of office for Dr. Atintono.
Dr Samuel Awinkene Atintono was then duly robed and inducted as the 7th Principal of Accra College of Education.
Inaugural Address of Dr. Samuel Awinkene Atintono
In his inaugural speech, Dr. Samuel Awinkene Atintono expressed his appreciation to his family, friends, students, staff and the dignitaries present for giving him a warm welcome and also communicated his vision of providing a sound and visionary leadership to support the successful training of competent teachers for Ghana and to support Ghana’s agenda in Teacher Education.
He further communicated his plans to transform the College into an institution of excellence in line with its vision and mission. In order to achieve this, he presented the following strategies which he believed would facilitate the achievement of the vision of the College.
- Academic excellence
- Research and staff development
- Focus on partnerships and collaborations with Universities and research institutions, both within and outside Ghana that could enhance the quality of research and training.
- Prudent use of financial resources
- Proactive administrative system to ensure that the administrative system is very efficient and proactive in dealing with administrative issues to support academic activities in the College.
He also highlighted a few challenges in the College which included:
- Limited office space for teaching and non-teaching staff
- Transportation of students to observe and conduct teaching practice
- Limited financial resources
To address the above challenges, he affirmed his commitment to work together with the college council and government to overcome the challenges.
In concluding, he expressed his appreciation to government for the infrastructural development through annual GET fund allocation and their reforms to train self-motivated and inspired teachers. He also thanked the organizers of the ceremony, his family, friends and the stake holders of the college for making his investiture ceremony a successful and historic event.
Congratulatory Messages
Various dignitaries, family, friends and stakeholders of the College were present to deliver their goodwill messages. Among them were:
- The School of Education and Leadership, University of Ghana
- Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast
- Executive Secretary, National Teaching Council
- PRINCOF
- Mrs Christiana Bampo Henaku, Former Principal of AcCE
- AcCE Senior Management
- CETAG
- CENTSAG of AcCE
- AcCE SRC
- AcCE Alumni Association
- AcCE Demonstration School
- Hon. Lydia Alhassan,member of parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon
- Family of Dr. Atintono
- Brothers of Dr. Atintono from Zↄkↄgambↄreŋↄ
- Prof Avea Nsoh
- Prof D.D. Kuupole, former Vice Chancellor, UCC
- Mr. Felix K. Ameka, president, World Congress of African Linguistics
- Prof James Essegbey, University of Florida, Gainesville
- Dr. David Ako Odoi, Senior Lecturer, University of Ghana
- Dr. Samuel Ofori Bekoe, director, TeachAid Consulting Ltd, UK
- BONABOTO (Association of citizens of Bolgatanga, Nangode, Bongo, Tongo)
- TƐrabuuriyele
- Dr. John Kanyiri Yambo, Medical Doctor, UEW
- Mr. Azeriya G. Ayeriga, Municipal Director of Education, Bawku Municipal
- Dr. Helen A. Atipoka, Lecture, UEW
- Samuel Alhassan Issah(PhD),Senior Lecturer, UEW
Address by Special Guest
The Special Guest of honor for the ceremony was the Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, but he was unable to attend the ceremony due to an equally important assignment that needed his attention. He was however represented by Dr. Tena Mensah,a Council member and G.E.S representative.
In his speech he commended the authorities of the institution for the excellent choice of a distinguished man as the Principal in the person of Dr. Samuel Awinkene Atintono; A man who aimes at achieving academic excellence and growth. He highlighted that one challenge which would confront the College will be increased population of students due to the four-year Bachelor of Education program and urged Dr. Samuel Atintono and his team to make adequate preparations towards this in the near future in order not to be caught off guard.
He assured the people present of government’s continuous support to Colleges of Education, and concluded by urging the staff and students of the College and the nation as a whole to support their leaders in nation building through patriotism.
He further congratulated Dr. Samuel Awinkene Atintono and wished him the best of luck and Gods guidance in the discharge of his Duties.
Entertainment
To make the ceremony a joyful and memorable one, several groups and individuals graced the occasion to treat the guest to good music and beautiful cultural display. Among them were
- King Ayisoba, a famous Ghanaian musician who gave a spectacular musical performance to the admiration of the audience
- The Yongo group, a beautiful led the procession and performed a beautiful traditional dance and cultural display to entertain the audience.
- A Kpanlogo group
- The AcCE band were also present to lead the procession and recession for during the investiture ceremony.
- The AcCE Choir gave beautiful renditions of good songs intermittently during the ceremony.
The investiture of Dr. Samuel Awinkene Atintono officially came to an end at 3:00pm with a closing prayer by the College Chaplain, Rev. Sr. Faustina Ganaa. The Chairman of the governing council after expressing his appreciation to the invited guest for gracing the occation dissolved the assembly. This was followed by the recession of dignitaries.
Refreshment There was a refreshment session after the ceremony where food and drinks were served to the dignitaries’ present, the family and friends of Dr. Samuel A. Atintono, staff and students of AcCE and all the other guests who were present to witness the memorable ceremony
