A former Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM), Christian Edem Kobla Dovlo (Rtd), has advocated three key actions needed to advance peace and security education across the country.
They included developing educational policies and appropriate legislation that supported peace and security civic education from the very foundation stages of formal education.
The remaining were bridging the gap between the formal and informal peace and security education and structures as well as the development of a culture of promoting and reinforcing female participation and education at all levels.
AVM Dovlo made the advocacy when 105 students graduated at the 10th congregation of the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra on Thursday.
The number constituted 26 Master of Arts Degree in Gender, Peace and Security (MGPS) students; 22 Master of Arts Degree in Conflict, Peace and Security (MCPS) students and 22 Executive Master of Arts Degree in Conflict, Peace and Security (EMCPS) students.
The remaining were 34 Weekend Master of Arts Degree in Conflict, Peace and Security (WMCPS) students and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in International Conflict Management (PICM) student.
The ceremony was held on the theme “A Decade of Peace and Security Education; The Role of KAIPTC.”
The graduating glass were from Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Cameroon, Malawi, Egypt and Togo, 54 per cent of the graduating students were males and 46 per cent were females.
The former commandant of the centre indicated that developing educational policies would contribute to achieving full integration while bridging the gap “will ensure that all at the community levels, formal and non-formal actors are not left out.”
Congratulating the graduating class on the feat chalked, he left them with the words of Kofi Annan who was committed to the cause of global peace.
“As important as the skills and the knowledge generated in an institution of learning are, the outlook and attitude that higher education fosters in its students are equally important because in the long run, it is vital to national development and self-confidence,” AVM Rtd Dovlo quoted.
Major General Francis Ofori, Commandant, KAIPTC, for his part, said achieving the 10 years milestone showed KAIPTC’s commitment to sustaining the Post-graduate academic programmes and other knowledge generation initiatives in peace and security.
He stated that in the first decade of its existence, the programmes attracted applications of people from all walks of life.
“From 2011 to 2021, the programmes have successfully graduated 806 students from 30 different countries. All through the years, the Faculty has been working under the mentorship of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA),” he added.
The KAIPTC Commandant similarly advised the graduating class to brace themselves up in the current global challenges and bring forth solutions.