UDS sends 4,975 Students into 17 Districts

University for Development Studies, (UDS), has dispatched 4,975 level 100 students into 17 districts in the Northern and Upper East Regions of Ghana to undertake the Third Trimester Field Practical Programme (TTFPP). The TTFPP is an interactive process modelled on an integrated approach. It offers students from the various faculties and schools of UDS, the opportunity to live and work together in selected communities. TTFPP allows students develop favourable attitudes towards working in rural and deprived communities. It exposes students to the nature of the development problems of Northern Ghana and generates data for further research into problem-solving development issues through the exchange of knowledge. Orientation and dispatch were done in two batches- Nyankpala and Navrongo. . Speaking at the ceremony which took place in Nyankpala on May 25, 2015, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Gabriel Teye said the TTFPP allows UDS students to contribute their quota to national and rural development as the data they gather on the field is used for development planning. In his address, during a similar ceremony in Navrongo, on June 01, 2015, the Director, TTFPP, Dr. Martin Ofosu said “TTFPP is a privilege as it offers some students the first time experience to live in a rural community”. He encouraged the students to keep a high level of discipline in the field. Community re-entry by 5,300 Level 200 students is also underway in the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Regions. This brings to 10,549 the number of students undertaking their TTFPP in 797 communities across four regions of Ghana. As part of measures to ensure the safety of the students, UDS has partnered World Vision Ghana, an NGO, to provide water purifying systems to be used by the students during their stay in the communities.