The Animal Health Production College (Veterinary College), one of the six (6) Agricultural colleges in Ghana, and the only Veterinary College. The colleges are owned and run by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (except the Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture), a government ministry focused on the growth and development of the Agricultural sector so that Ghana can increase food security, reduce poverty, increase employment and increase the contribution of Agriculture to the overall GDP of the country.
The Veterinary College was established in the 1922 in
Tamale, Northern Ghana, by the British colonial administration to increase the
health of livestock in what was then the Gold Coast. Unfortunately, in 1925,
the school was closed due to funding shortfalls. In 1960, the college was
rebuilt in Pong-Tamale and reopened thanks to funds provided by the United
States.
PROGRAMMES OFFERED IN THE COLLEGE
The College offers a 2 year certificate with 1 year field
attachment and a 3 year diploma programme, either on Field Animal Health or
Veterinary Laboratory Techniques. Graduates with a certificate or diploma in
Animal Health will specialize in the education of livestock owners and the
field treatment of livestock and pets while Veterinary Lab Techs will work in
Vet Labs focusing on research of diseases, vaccinations, post-mortems,
diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases. Students are graduating into a job
market where there is a shortage of trained veterinary technicians and an
increased need due to a government push for food security and increased protein
consumption. Unfortunately, the government is unable to hire a significant
percentage of the new graduates coming out of the college, which means that
these graduates will be required to startup businesses or join private
veterinary clinics in order to make a living.
THE COLLEGE CAMPUS
The campus sprawls over a huge open grassy area, and
includes an administration block, a kitchen and dining hall, 3 classrooms, a
library, and a laboratory instruction room and many acres of unused land. The
students are housed on campus in 3 dormitories, 2 for the boys and 1 for the
girls. Each dormitory has a landlord (student in charge) and a house name,
similar to in Harry Potter where the different houses compete during fun
events.
The College’s Animal
Clinic which is currently not in use because of lack of equipment.
This is the path leading from the campus to the village,
alongside is the college soccer park.
This is the path leading from the village to the boys
dormitory
This is the path which leads to the ladies dormitory
The Principal’s office is the small part on the left that
sticks out, and the long part of the building on the right side is the Anatomy
lab classroom. In the back on the right is a lecture hall, and the block on the
left is the Administration block.
This is the hatchery at the college farm. This incubator was
built by a British company and was donated by a German aid organization in the
1970s. It has the capacity to hatch 20,000 eggs every 30 days, which provides a
huge revenue to the college when its functional. Unfortunately the machine has
been down since early summer because of a broken relay and a non-functional
heater.
THE STAFF
The college has an administration composed of the Acting
Principal Dr. Bempong, the Vice-Principal Dr. Essel, the office administrator
Mr. Baba, and the college farm manager Madame Faustina, Mr. Wumbei and Mr.
Kapuya. The college has a small core teaching staff and some temporary
lecturers to fill any gaps that exist, but there is still a lack of teachers so
as a result the Vice Principal and the Acting Principal both have to teach a
few courses.
Dr. Eric O. Bempong is the Principal since 2009. He's
from the South of Ghana and obtained his doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in
Russia. He is an extremely hard working and driven man, whose dream is to get
the college to become a fully accredited university. He's very progressive
about gender roles and has made it one of his missions to continue to increase
female enrolment while he is the at the college. Furthermore, Dr. Bempong is
fully engaged with the idea of entrepreneurship as a path out of poverty for
Ghana and has helped drive many initiatives that will transform the students
from job seekers into job creators.
Dr.Daniel Essel Cobbina is the Vice-Principal of the college
and is also from the South of Ghana. He received his doctorate for Veterinary
Medicine in Cuba.
Madame Faustina is also a former graduate from the college,
and spent some years doing extension work before upgrading her education and
coming to the Veterinary College where she is now the College Farm Manager and
a lecturer. She manages the farm activities which includes many acres of maize
farm and some livestock, as well as an out of commission fowl hatchery all of
which are a source of internally generated income for the college. She's the
only woman in the core staff, and she is highly trusted by the Acting
Principal.
MISSION
The mission of the college is to train Veterinary
Technicians, Veterinary Assistants and Veterinary Lab. Technicians, in order to
improve upon the livestock production of our nation.
VISSION
To upgrade the college into a University by 2016, and also
to start a running a Degree in Veterinary Nursing progamme.
Photos are kind courtesy of : http://jblechtaewb.wordpress.com/
Photos are kind courtesy of : http://jblechtaewb.wordpress.com/
