President of GTUC to receive World Education Congress prestigious award

Dr Osei Kofi Darkwa, President of the Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC) has been nominated by the World Education Congress (WEC) to receive an award in India for his outstanding contribution to education.

He is expected to receive the award which consists of a trophy and a citation at the maiden 2012 WEC ceremony to be organised in India on the theme: “Learning in the 21st Century: Right and Access to Education.”

Mrs Florence M.N. Onny, Head of the University and International Programmes made this known to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday.

She said the awards event is slated for June 29 and 30, at Taj Land End in Mumbai, India.

Mrs Onny said a letter issued by the Office of University and International Programme to Dr Osei said the Jury and Council of Board Members of WEC eulogised him for his good leadership skills as well as his immense contributions in the field of education.

“Your leadership and contribution to the field of education is well known. The position that you occupy in the fraternity is strategic and iconic. As a thinker and doer, you are a role model and a believer in change,” it said.

She said Dr Osei is expected to address the Congress at the event after he had received his award.

The congress is expected to explore how education could be used to help develop mental, emotional and physical skills to facilitate personal excellence as well as psychological and socio -economic wellbeing.

The award ceremony would also offer the opportunity for institutions and individuals with skills with best talents and highest standards to be recognised and celebrated.

Dr Osei was appointed first Principal of GTUC on November 16, 2004. He assumed this leadership position after more than two decades of higher education, administrative, consultative and managerial experience in Norway, the United States and in Ghana.

Since assuming the headship of GTUC, Dr Darkwa has facilitated institutional transformation in areas of critical importance to the university including status change, fiscal operating improvements, private funding, capital improvements, strategic planning and technological enhancements.

Dr Darkwa had enhanced the quality of university education and is well-known for his creativity, strategic thinking and excellent communication with faculty members, staff and students.

He is noted as an accomplished leader, an effective speaker and a prolific writer.

Dr Darkwa began his primary education at Aningazanga Primary school (Bolgantanga) in 1966 and continued to the University of Ghana, Legon where he obtained a degree in Sociology and Political Science in 1986.

He gained admission to the University of Oslo, Norway where he completed two years of a Masters degree in Sociology Programme. He continued his studies at Washington University in St Louis where he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1995.

He relocated to Ghana in August 2003, after teaching at the University of Illinois as an Assistant Professor.

In Ghana, he took up his first appointment as a visiting lecturer with the University of Ghana, Legon and later joined the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration in February 2005 as a senior Lecturer in Management Information Systems, Electronic Commerce and Computer Applications.

WEC is a body that awards excellence in education, leadership and teaching.