ABOUT WESLEY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, KUMASI
Wesley College of Education, Kumasi was established by the Methodist Church, when in 1918 the Synod of the Gold Coast Methodist Church decided to relocate the training of the Church’s workers from Cape Coast and Fourah Bay to the Kemp buildings in Aburi in the Eastern Region of Ghana. At the Kemp buildings the church started the training of Ministers and teacher-catechists under the tutelage of Rev. S. J. Gibson. In 1921, Rev. C. W. Armstrong took over from Rev. Gibson.
In 1922 the full-fledged institution was named WESLEY COLLEGE and the Rev. C. W. Armstrong became the first Principal with Mr. L. A. Greaves as the first Vice-Principal. As the Methodist Church rapidly expanded across the Akan and Ga speaking circuits of the church, there was the need to establish a training college in the northern sector of the country to train more teachers, ministers and catechists. The Chairman of the Gold Coast District of the Methodist Church Rev. Harry Webster negotiated with the Government at the time, for land to put up the new college. However, it was the Tafohene at the time Nana Yaw Dabanka and his elders who gave the parcel of land on which the college stands at the moment, which was then a dense forest, to the Methodist Church for the establishment of the new college.
The draft agreement for a 999 years lease of a 104-acre plot of land was signed between the Tafohene Nana Yaw Dabanka and the Gold Coast Methodist Church on the 8th April 1922. On 20th November 1922 the foundation stone for the Main block was laid by His Excellency the Governor of the Gold Coast Brigadier Sir Gordon Guggisburg K.C.M.G. D.S.O.R. E.
The Main block was built in two years by Messrs Schilling and Turner Company. To put up the Main block each member of the Gold Coast Methodist Church contributed five shillings while the Methodist Church in England contributed handsomely. Two prominent and generous donors who immensely supported the construction of the main block need to be mentioned here. They were Mr. Knight, a businessman and Mayor of Newark, United Kingdom and Mr. Brew, a Methodist businessman from Cape Coast, Ghana.
When the main block was completed the college in Aburi was transferred to Kumasi. On Monday 3rd March, 1924, Wesley College was officially opened in Kumasi. Thus, Wesley College, Kumasi became the first higher institution to be established in the Northern sector of the Gold Coast. The total number of students who came into residence on the 5th March 1924 was 74, consisting of 7 candidates for ministerial training, 48 student teachers and 19 student catechists. Out of the 74 students, 26 had been in training at Aburi during the previous years. Members of Staff were Rev. C. W. Armstrong, Principal, Mr. L. B. Greaves, Vice-Principal and Rev. Francis Chapman F. Grant, who in 1961 became the first President of the Conference of the Methodist Church Ghana.
In 1930, the first batch of female students was admitted to be trained as teachers. These women were housed at Mmofraturo. Enrollment at the time stood at 135. The present dormitory blocks were completed in 1949 and in early 1950 the women joined the men in the college compound from Mmofraturo.
The courses offered in the College have gone through upgrading from 2-year Cert ‘B’; 4-year Cert ‘A’; 2-year Post-Secondary Cert ‘A; 3-year Post-Secondary Cert ‘A’; Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) and now 4-year B.Ed. degree.
Currently, Wesley College of Education offers the following programmes;
4-year B.Ed. degree in:
- B.Ed. Primary Education
- B.Ed. JHS Education
B.Ed JHS Education Options
1. Math & Science
2. Math & ICT
3. Agric & Science
4. Social Studies & RME
5. Social Studies & Geography
6. Social Studies & Home Economics
7. Social Studies & Physical Education
8. Music and Physical Education
9. French & English Language
10. French & Ghanaian Language
11. English Language & Ghanaian Language
12. Visual Arts
Wesley College of Education is also among the few colleges in Ghana which offer special programmes for the visually impaired.
As a result of the training programmes of the College, she has produced many great personalities in various fields of endeavours.