Right to Play, a non-governmental organization has commissioned and handed over a refurbished resource centre to improve upon teaching and learning.
The project in partnership with the St Teresa’s College of Education (TERESCO), Hohoe will position tutors and student teachers in the use of Playful teaching approaches.
Mr Maxwell Denakpor, Right to Play Project Officer, Volta Region, said the Centre would be a hub for training and professional development.
He said it was the belief that through the Centre, senior tutors, tutors, teachers and student teachers would receive extensive training, equipping them with the necessary skills and tools to thrive in modern classrooms.
Mr Denakpor said a cornerstone of the Organisation’s partnership initiative with the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) was the development of a Play-based Learning Manual.
“This manual wil serve as a comprehensive guide for pre-Service teachers. It offers clear strategies, techniques and activities to support the implementation of play-based learning in classrooms”.
Mr Denakpor said the manual provided both foundational understanding of the importance of play in early childhood education and practical, actionable steps for teachers to apply.
He said the UEW through the Play Leads would make Play-based Learning Manual readily available to all College tutors to enable them build capacity to support teacher trainees develop and update their pedagogical skills.
Mr Denakpor said the commissioned Centre was opening the door to a future of playful learning that was engaging, inclusive and trans formative.
He said the Organisation remained committed to ensuring that play-based learning became a central part of early childhood and Primary education across the country as stakeholders continued to develop and refine approach to teacher education.
Dr Maxwell Seyram Kumah, Vice Principal, St Teresa’s College of Education, said the Centre would help train student teachers so that by the time they were going to the field, they would come out as the 21st century teachers who would use creative approaches of learning through use of smart boards, ICT integration and technological education.
He said the Centre was also made available for partner schools in the Hohoe Municipality including basic schools.
Dr Kumah said the College in an MoU with the Education Directorate would train teachers while schools would also have the chance to visit the Centre.
He said the College would ensure an effective maintenance culture of the facility to ensure that it served the purpose for a very long time.
Mr Victor Kwaku Kovey, Hohoe Municipal Education Director, expressed gratitude to Right to Play for the Centre which was of a kind in the Region under the public education.
He said he believed the Centre would be put in good and effective use to reflect the purpose of its establishment in the improvement of teachers and learners in the Municipality.
Mr Kovey called on the resource persons to maintain a culture of maintenance to prevent any defect of the facility.
He appealed to Right to Play and other philanthropists to provide a generator for the Centre to ensure that it was in use all the time.
