The Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong, is a co-educational

teacher-training college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

in Akropong in the Akwapim district of the

Eastern Region of Ghana The Eastern Region is located in south Ghana and is one of the sixteen administrative regions of Ghana. Eastern region is bordered to the east by the Lake Volta, to the north by Bono East Region and Ashanti region, to the west by Ashanti region, ...

. It has gone through a series of previous names, including the Presbyterian Training College, the Scottish Mission Teacher Training College, and the Basel Mission Seminary. The college is affiliated to the

University of Education, Winneba A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

History

The first institution of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

in Ghana, it was founded by the

Basel Mission The Basel Mission was a Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' (KEM), found ...

as the Basel Mission Seminary on 3 July 1848 and fondly referred to as the ‘Mother of Our Schools’. The college was the first institution of higher learning to be established to train

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

catechists Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christian ...

for the eventual Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast. The college is the second oldest higher educational institution in early modern

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

after

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

’s

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...

, founded in 1827. For more than 50 years, it remained the only teacher training institution in the then Gold Coast. It is affiliated to the

Presbyterian Church of Ghana The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is a mainline Protestant church denomination in Ghana. The oldest, continuously existing, established Christian Church in Ghana, it was started by the Basel missionaries on 18 December 1828. The missionaries had ...

. The idea to establish the college was motivated by the ideals of 18th century

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

Pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...

inspired by German theologians

Philipp Spener Philipp Jakob Spener (23 January 1635 – 5 February 1705), was a German Lutheran theologian who essentially founded what would become to be known as Pietism. He was later dubbed the "Father of Pietism". A prolific writer, his two main works, '' ...

and

August Hermann Francke August Hermann Francke (; 22 March 1663 – 8 June 1727) was a German Lutheran clergyman, theologian, philanthropist, and Biblical scholar. Biography Born in Lübeck, Francke was educated at the Illustrious Gymnasium in Gotha before he studie ...

. The Basel Missionaries who originated mainly from Switzerland and Germany established the college. In the course of the one hundred and sixty years of its existence, the college has run different academic programmes and different curricula have been followed, all tailored to suit the demands of the various times. These ideals emphasised a combination of spirituality with transformation of life through the practicality of Christian teachings. This feature distinguished the

from

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

missionary societies such as the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

, the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Part ...

and the Wesleyan Methodist Mission Society which were more doctrinal in their approach to

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

. Starting with an enrollment figure of 5 students in 1848, the college now has a student population of 1,268. The Presbyterian College of Education launched its 160th Anniversary in July 2008. The college has the tradition of celebrating renowned achievements on milestone occasions: Thousands of highly skilled and exceptionally disciplined educationists have passed out of the college, and have contributed immensely to the development of Ghana not only as teachers, but also as economists, politicians, lawyers, bankers, industrialists, journalists and clergymen. The college contributed to the staffing of the University of Ghana when it was established in 1948. Over eighty percent of the Moderators of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (including the present E.P. Moderator) were trained at P.T.C. The first principal of the college was the Basel missionary, the Rev. Johannes Christian Dieterle. A similar teacher-catechist seminary at Christiansborg, started by the German missionary and philologist,

Johannes Zimmermann Johannes Zimmermann (2 March 1825 – 13 December 1876) was a missionary, clergyman, translator, philologist and ethnolinguist of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society of Switzerland, who translated the entire Bible into the Ga language of ...

in 1852, was eventually merged into the Akropong college years later in 1856 to become a single entity. In 1864, the Basel missionary and builder,

Fritz Ramseyer Friedrich Augustus Louis Ramseyer also Fritz Ramseyer (7 October 1840 – 6 August 1914) was a Swiss-born Basel missionary, who was captured by the Asante in 1869 in colonial Ghana, together with his wife Rosa Louise Ramseyer (née Bo ...

, who became a captive of the Asante between 1869 and 1874 and pioneered mission work in the Ashanti territories, arrived on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

for the first time to assist the mission in its structural work, completing the construction of the seminary buildings at Akropong. According to the British historian of missions,

Andrew Walls Andrew Finlay Walls (21 April 192812 August 2021) was a British historian of missions, best known for his pioneering studies of the history of the African church and a pioneer in the academic field of World Christianity. Biography Walls was b ...

, the catechist-teacher education model adopted by the Basel Mission, was an innovation of the

pioneered by the Anglican vicar, Henry Venn ''"as a sort of lower, unordained missionary"'' - ''"a subaltern role to facilitate the spread of the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

."'' The original curriculum included a five-year course in the methods in

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and Christian catechism. In popular culture, the school is dubbed, the ''Mother of our Schools.'' It was the only

on the

for more than half-a-century producing educators for the needs of the community and the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. The college now offers diplomas and degrees in education, pedagogy and related subjects. The college participated in the

DFID , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...

-funded

Transforming Teacher Education and Learning Transforming Teaching, Education & Learning (T-TEL) is a Ghanaian not-for-profit organization that provides technical advice, project management, research and implementation support services using local expertise to advance Ghana's education ...

programme, Ghana (T-TEL) programme. It is one of the about 40 public colleges of education in Ghana.

Today

It is now a fully-fledged public institution with the

Ghana Education Service The Ghana Education Service (GES) is a government agency under the Ministry of Education responsible for implementing government policies that ensure that Ghanaians of school-going age irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, disability, religiou ...

system under the auspices of the

Government of Ghana The Government of Ghana was created as a parliamentary democracy, followed by alternating military and civilian governments in Ghana. In January 1993, military government gave way to the Fourth Republic after presidential and parliamentary electi ...

. Initially, the plan was to upgrade the college to a university but that idea was abandoned after the church founded the

Presbyterian University College The Presbyterian University, Ghana (formerly Presbyterian University College, Ghana) is a partially private & public university with multi- campuses and its headquarters located at Abetifi-Kwahu in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It is one of th ...

in 1998. The curriculum now includes general education requirements tailored to the demands of a developing country. The school was established five years after the

started the country's first primary school in 1843. The

, and later the

also led pioneering efforts in establishing hundreds of

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

s and teacher-training colleges.

Education

The college started with a five-year teacher's certificate course and later run programmes which included the Cert ‘A’ 4-year course, 2-year Cert ‘B’ the 2-year Post ‘B’, 2-year Post-Secondary, 3-year Post Secondary and 2-year Specialist course in Science, Agriculture and Special Education, The college runs a three-year Diploma in Basic Education programme which started in 2004. It is among the fifteen Science designated colleges in the country. The Presbyterian College of Education has several programmes

Programmes offered

# Vocational & Technical Skills # Languages # Science # Education Studies # Mathematics & ICT # Social Sciences # Communication skills

List of Principals

Notable faculty and staff

Ephraim Amu Ephraim Kɔku Amu (13 September 1899 – 2 January 1995) was a Ghanaian composer, musicologist and teacher. Biography Early life and education He was born on 13 September 1899 at Peki-Avetile (also called Abenase) in the Peki Traditional Area ...

- Ghanaian musicologist, composer and teacher; instructor in music and agriculture *

David Asante David Asante (23 December 1834 – 13 October 1892) was a philologist, linguist, translator and the first Akan native missionary of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society. He was the second African to be educated in Europe by the Basel Missio ...

- first native Akan missionary of the Basel mission and philologist; instructor in language *

E. A. Boateng Ernest Amano Boateng was a Ghanaian academic and public servant. He was an emeritus professor of geography who taught at the University of Ghana. He was the first vice chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and the first chairman of the then ...

- first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast; instructor in geography * Johann Gottlieb Christaller - German missionary and philologist; instructor in language *

Alexander Worthy Clerk Alexander Worthy Clerk (4 March 1820 – 11 February 1906) was a Jamaican Moravian pioneer missionary, teacher and clergyman who arrived in 1843 in the Danish Protectorate of Christiansborg, now Osu in Accra, Ghana, then known as the Go ...

- Jamaican Moravian missionary and teacher; instructor in Biblical studies *

Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia (22 June 1921 – 13 March 2019) was a Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer. Considered Africa's premier musicologist, during his lifetime, he was called a "living legend" and "easily the most published and bes ...

- Ghanaian composer and ethnomusicologist; instructor in music *

- Swiss missionary and builder; mission technical staff * Carl Christian Reindorf - Gold Coast historian and Basel Mission pastor; instructor in history *

- German missionary and philologist; instructor in language

Notable alumni

* Gottlieb Ababio Adom - Gold Coast educator, journalist, editor and Presbyterian minister *

Kwasi Sintim Aboagye Kwasi Sintim Aboagye was a Ghanaian politician. He served as member of parliament for the Akim Abuakwa South electoral district from 1954 to 1965. In 1965 he became the member of parliament for Adeiso until February 1966 when the Nkrumah govern ...

- Ghanaian politician, member of parliament during the first republic. *

Clement Anderson Akrofi Clement Anderson Akrofi (1 July 1901 – 1 July 1967) was an ethnolinguist, translator and philologist who worked extensively on the structure of the Twi language under the aegis of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Early life and education ...

- Gold Coast ethnolinguist, translator and philologist who worked extensively on the structure of the Twi language *

Ofori Atta I Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, KBE (11 October 1881 – 21 August 1943) was the Okyenhene or King of the Akyem people and of Akyem Abuakwa, a traditional kingdom that stretches back to the thirteenth century and was one of the most influential kingdoms ...

Okyenhene Okyenhene is the title of the Tribal King of Akyem Abuakwa Akyem Abuakwa is one of the four states of Akyem in 14th century Africa. Currently, it is part of Ghana. Historically, the Akyem were part of the Adansi Kingdom, which was the first nat ...

or King of

Akyem Abuakwa Akyem Abuakwa is one of the four states of Akyem in 14th century Africa. Currently, it is part of Ghana. Historically, the Akyem were part of the Adansi Kingdom, which was the first nation to build buildings out of mud. They were therefore were n ...

, 1912 – 1943 * Rose Akua Ampofo - Ghanaian educator, gender advocate and first woman in Ghana to be ordained a Presbyterian minister *

Michael Paul Ansah Michael Paul Ansah (born 31 October 1928) was a Ghanaian politician who served in the First and Third Republics. He served as a member of parliament for the Akwamu constituency from 1965 to 1966 and the member of parliament for the Mid-Volta con ...

- Ghanaian politician, minister of state in the third republic *

- first native missionary of the Basel Mission and philologist; instructor in language * Christian Gonçalves Kwami Baëta - Gold Coast academic and Presbyterian minister and Synod Clerk, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast, 1945 – 1949, who was instrumental in the establishment of the University of Ghana, Legon in 1948 *

Solomon Antwi Kwaku Bonsu Samuel Antwi Kwaku Bonsu also known by the name Solomon Antwi Kwaku Bonsu was a Ghanaian politician in the first republic. He was the Minister of Co-operatives and later Minister of Pensions and National Insurance. He was also the member of pa ...

- Ghanaian politician, minister of state in the first republic *

Carl Henry Clerk Carl Henry Clerk (4 January 1895 – 28 May 1982) was a Ghanaian agricultural educationist, administrator, journalist, editor and church minister who was elected the fourth Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast, assuming t ...

- Gold Coast educator, administrator, journalist, editor and Presbyterian minister, fourth Synod Clerk, Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast, 1950 – 1954 *

Nicholas T. Clerk Nicholas Timothy Clerk (3 March 1930 – 22 September 2012) was a Ghanaian academic, administrator and Presbyterian minister who served as the Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) from 1977 to 1982. He ...

- Ghanaian academic, administrator and Presbyterian minister *

Nicholas Timothy Clerk Nicholas Timothy Clerk (28 October 1862 – 16 August 1961) was a Protestant theologian, clergyman and pioneering missionary of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society in southeast colonial Ghana. His father was the Jamaican Moravian missiona ...

- Gold Coast-born Basel missionary and theologian, first Synod Clerk, Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast, 1918 –1932 * Ferdinand Koblavi Dra Goka - Ghanaian educationist and politician in the First Republic; Volta Regional Minister, 1960 – 1961 and

Minister for Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

, 1961 – 1964 * Peter Hall - Gold Coast-born Jamaican educator, clergyman, missionary and first Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast, 1918 –1922 *

Emmanuel Mate Kole Emmanuel Mate Kole or Nene Sir Azzu Mate Kole I, (1860 in Odumase – 1939) was the third '' Konor'', or paramount chief, of the Manya Krobo from 1892 until his death in 1939. He was succeeded by his son, Nene Azzu Mate Kole II, who ruled Ma ...

- ''

Konor Konor is the title of the monarch or ruler of the Manya Krobo Traditional Area in the Eastern Region of Ghana.Daniel Miles McFarland, ''Historical Dictionary of Ghana'', Scarecrow Press, 1995, p. 120.Roger Gocking, ''The History of Ghana'', Gr ...

'', or

paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and arch ...

of the Manya Krobo, 1892–1939. *

Joseph Edward Michel Brigadier Joseph Edward Michel (1917-1961) was a Ghanaian soldier. He was one of the early commissioned officers in the Ghana Army. Early life and education Michel was the son of Alexander Michel, a French Trader at Tarkwa and Afua his wife w ...

- one of the early commissioned officers in the

Ghana Army The Ghana Army (GA) is the main ground warfare organizational military branch of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF). In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West Af ...

Michel Camp Michel Camp is the base of the First Battalion of Infantry of the Ghana Army. It is located at Tema in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The First Battalion together with the Second and Fifth Battalions of Infantry make up the Southern Command o ...

was named in his honour. *

- Ghanaian composer and ethnomusicologist; * Richard Emmanuel Obeng (1877–1951), Ghanaian writer; credited for writing one of Africa's earliest and Ghana's first novel titled ''Eighteenpence''. *

Nii Amaa Ollennu Raphael Nii Amaa Ollennu (21 May 1906 – 22 December 1986) was a jurist and judge who became a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana from 1962 to 1966, the acting President of Ghana during the Second Republic from 7 August 1970 to 31 August ...

- jurist, judge, Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana in the Second Republic and acting President of Ghana from 7 August 1970 to 31 August 1970 *

Theophilus Opoku Theophilus Herman Kofi Opoku (1842 – 7 July 1913) was a native Akan people, Akan Linguistics, linguist, Translation, translator, Philology, philologist, Teacher, educator and Christian mission, missionary who became the first indigenous Afric ...

- native Akan linguist, translator, philologist, educator and missionary who became the first indigenous African to be ordained a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

on Gold Coast soil by the Basel Mission in 1872 *

Solomon Osei-Akoto Solomon Osei-Akoto (3 June 1930 – July 2015) was a Ghanaian politician. He was member of parliament for Birim-Abirem from 1969 to 1972 and also served as ministerial secretary (deputy minister) for transport and communication under the Busia ...

- Ghanaian educationist and politician in the Second Republic, Deputy Minister for Transport and Communications, 1969 – 1972 *

Emmanuel Charles Quist Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist, also known as Paa Quist (21 May 1880, in Christiansborg, Accra – 30 March 1959) was a barrister, educator and judge who served as the first Speaker of the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly and the first Speaker of ...

- barrister, judge and the first African President of the Legislative Council and first Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana *

Edward Akufo-Addo Edward Akufo-Addo (26 June 1906 – 17 July 1979) was a Ghanaian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the " Big Six" leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) and one of the founding fathers of Ghana who engaged in the fight for ...

-politician and judge; former Chief Justice in the NLC era and President of Ghana in the second Republic

References

External links

Presbyterian College of Education Website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605144550/http://ptc.edu.gh/website/ , date=2018-06-05 Christian schools in Ghana Colleges of Education in Ghana Education in Ghana Educational institutions established in 1848 Presbyterian schools in Africa Presbyterian universities and colleges Education in the Eastern Region (Ghana) Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong alumni Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong 1848 establishments in Africa