May Day Care and Educational Centre holds graduation

May Day Care and Educational Centre (MDCEC) has held its annual graduation ceremony to award pre-school leavers, Basic Education and Early Childhood Development trained teachers with certificates of honours.

A total of 42 students graduated; out of which 13 passed out from the pre-school form; 13 from the child development teachers training programme and 16 from the Basic Education level.

Mrs Efua Bram-Larbi, Director of the School said the Teachers Training School is affiliated with the University of Education Winneba, and approved by the Ghana Education Service and certified by the Department of Social Welfare.

The school offers a two-year diploma course in variety of early childhood programmes including growth and development, child abuse and neglects, nutrition and health safety, need for pre-school education, thematic and practical approach for qualified senior high school leavers, West Africa Senior Secondary Education, and ‘O’ level leavers .

She noted that the school has never used cane to train students since its inception because it believes in counselling and the play way approach to get children to take studies seriously.

“This is because, once cane is used, the child reads to please the teacher out of fear but not out of what can be achieved in future,” she said.

Professor George Oduro, Provost of the College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast, who was the guest of honour at the ceremony, said MDCEC has demonstrated that the importance of using the play way method to teach students.

“I was amazed at how children at as early as three years were able to differentiate between varieties of similar colours that adults could not even identify,” he said.

Prof Oduro said children learn best though blending fun with studies and therefore commended the authorities of the school for using such teaching methods to train children from the foundation.

He urged the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service to pay particular attention to schools like the May Day Care and Educational Centre that trains teachers in early childhood education by using activity based learning.

Prof Oduro said such educations must be mobilised to train teachers in early childhood education and development.

He urged other educational institutions to emulate the example of the school to blend learning with the play way methods and counseling instead of using canes as forms of punishment.

Mrs Comfort Asare, Director of the Department of Social Welfare who chaired the occasion advised parents not to discourage their children from combining learning with playing.

“This is because as a proud parent of a graduate of this school, I know the extent to which the play way method of learning has taken my children to”, she said.

Mrs Asare said the school teaches children to be eloquent and assertive and as well contribute to decision making in any sphere of life.