Education for Transformation and Community Development: UDS Propoor Curriculum

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Education for Transformation and Community
Development UDS Pro-poor Curriculum

• Prof. Kaku S Nokoe
• Central Administration, Tamale
• With Dr. Francis Z. L. Bacho
• Faculty of Integrated Development Studies, Wa
• University for Development Studies

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Keywords Knowledge for Service

• Knowledge
• Development
• Service
• Community
• Partnership and Cooperation
• A University FOR Development Studies

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Context

• Failure of University Education to address
  Development Needs of Communities
• Skill Labour Flight
• Negative Attitudes

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The Search For a New Type of University

• Address development Needs of society that
• Train people to be sensitive to the plight of
  their communities

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The UDS as a New Type of University for
Transformation

• Background Information on UDS
• Mandate
• Pro-poor Stance
• Physical location
• Programme structure
• Community Development programme

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Mandate

• The UDS was established in 1992 to
• Blend the academic world with the community in
  order to provide constructive interaction between
  the two for the total development of the Northern
  Ghana, in particular, and the country as a whole
  (PNDC Law 297, Section 2)

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Pro-Poor Vision

• University as a community asset
• Practical-Orientation
• Attitudinal-transformation
• Addressing critical issues of access

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Location
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Academic Programmes

• Reflects the development needs of the people
• Emphasis on integration
• Strong Community development focus

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Academic Programmes

• Reflects the development needs of the people
• Emphasis on integration
• Strong Community orientation

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The Third Trimester as a core programme a
must-pass component!

• Concept live, study, discuss, make ve change
• Organization
• Formation of learning groups (multi-disciplinary,
  gender)
• Maximum size 10 per group
• Selected Communities Deprived
• Eight weeks stay for 3 consecutive years
• Up to 4 assessments
• Development and Management Plan

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Students preparing to travel into
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Students helping communities to improve
infrastructure
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Students Assessment in the Field
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Where is the transformation?

• Changing perceptions and attitudes
• Knowledge for development University as a
  community asset
• Valuing Education

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From Students

• Before I came to UDS I use to hear of poverty in
  the Villages but I did not understand. But Now
  that I have lived in my community for three years
  I know how poor the rural people are. I will do
  everything I can to help my community when I in
  position one day.

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From Communities

• the first time the students came they did not
  want to eat our food or interact with us, but
  after sometime they got used to our situation and
  for the three years, they worked with us to
  initiate projects. They even went with us to our
  farms and advised us on better ways of farming

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Female education

• There were young women among the students who
  came to our village and worked with us for three
  years. Since they left more girls from the
  village are now attending school (Women leader
  from Bongo Community).

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University as a community asset

• We are happy that university students now come
  live with us and help us solve our problems. We
  will like the students to stay with families so
  that they feed them to cut down cost. If they
  stay with families they will really get to know
  more what goes in our daily lives (Kandiga Chief)

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Employers - NGOs

• When you employ a graduate from UDS as a
  development worker, you dont need to spend extra
  money training him/her. I have three of them and
  they are all working comfortably in very remote
  communities without problems (Dr. Odoi
  Bolgatanga)

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Challenges

• Pressure for admissions
• Growing numbers vs. limited Resources
• Persisting old ways and resistance
• Additional demands for Industrial Attachment for
  Science-based programmes