An 11-member committee has been inaugurated at a ceremony on campus to oversee the transition of the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) Committee as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Category II Institute. 
    
The inauguration of the committee was as a result of the upgrade of IEPA to UNESCO Category II Institute for the West Africa Sub-region in the areas of Educational Planning, Management and Leadership.

Members of the Committee

The committee will, therefore, liaise with the current Director of the Institute to manage the new Category II Centre before the appointment of a substantive Director-General.   The committee is chaired by Prof. John V. Mensah of the School for Development Studies. The members are the Dean of the School of Graduation Studies, Prof. Ernest L. Okorley; a representative of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Richie-Mike Wellington; Director of Research Innovation and Consultancy, Prof. Frederick Ato Armah; Dean of the Centre for International Education, Prof. Kwaku Boakye; Dean, Faculty of Educational Foundations, Prof. Eric Nyarko-Sampson. 

The rest are Director of IEPA, Dr. (Bro) Michael Amakyi; Head of Legal Section, Mr. Solomon Faakye Esq; A representative of the National Council for Tertiary Education, Mrs. Sandra Amoah; Director of Human Resource, Rev. Isaac Baafi-Sarbeng and Assistant Registrar, IEPA, Mrs. Alberta Abena Konadu Owusu.

Terms of Reference

As part of the terms of reference, the committee is expected to prepare press releases for dissemination; finalise the constitutive documents such as Constitution/Statutes, Strategic plan, Action/implementation plan for 2020, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UCC and IEPA. The Committee will also advertise key positions of the Category II Centre; constitute a search committee to identify appropriate candidates for management positions and submit recommendations to government for appointment.

In addition, the Committee will ensure that all stakeholders, and in particular UCC, are well informed of IEPA’s present status as well as facilitate the smooth transition of staff unto the Category II platform. The Committee shall engage the relevant stakeholders, including the media, on IEPA’s mission towards partnership and collaborative work and explore the possibility of securing an office space for the Institute at the Ministry of Education in Accra as well as put in place measures to ensure that the corporate image of IEPA is aligned with that of UNESCO.

Smooth Transition

Speaking at the ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, urged the committee to ensure a smooth transition from IEPA’s current state to the Category II status. “We are relying on the committee to navigate the IEPA through this process in order to finally reposition the Institute as a UNESCO Category II Centre,” he stressed. 

Prof. Ampiah noted that with the Category II status, IEPA had a unique role to play in the West African Sub-Region in terms of Educational Leadership and Planning. “We need to work towards making IEPA get recognition by its functions both in Ghana and the West African Sub-Region,” Prof. Ampiah said.

The Vice-Chancellor commended the Government of Ghana and the Minister of Education especially Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh for the enormous support they have provided the University to realise this objective. “Government has really rallied behind us right from the onset” he noted.

Chairman's Remark

On behalf of members of the Committee, Prof. John Mensah thanked the Vice-Chancellor and Management of the University for the confidence reposed in them. He noted that they would ensure the terms of reference were implemented to the latter. “We will do everything within our capacity to meet all the requirements expected of IEPA as UNESCO Category II Institute,” he added.

It would be recalled that the General Conference of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), authorised the elevation of the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) to UNESCO Centre of Excellence Category II. The approval was granted by the UNESCO General Conference on Friday, 15th November 2019 as part of meetings for the 40th Session in Paris, France.