Lectures in Winneba were enjoyable though hectic. I always thought it was going to be due to stories teachers in High school dished out to us. However modern teaching methodologies from lecturers such as the use of technology equipment like projectors, microphones, and even computers made it even more delightful to parents who had no record of education. The lecturers were well-to-do since most of them on campus had cars that aided their movement. That was something I was impressed with particularly because no one would not want to be late to teach their students.
Lectures had presentation sessions incorporated to make student express their takes on things learned. This was on a scheduled basis thus everyone was prepared before stepping into class on such days. I laughed so hard on presentation days because I got the chance to see my colleagues in their elements aside from the fun we had off-campus. Dressing formally was one of the strictest rules observed by lecturers during this period and this in return influenced the overall assessment of the whole exercise. I was always dressed not to impress my colleagues but to impress my lecturers subtly and score some marks in that regard. It kind of gave me the confidence I needed to speak whenever presentation sessions were held.
During those periods, I used diverse vocabulary. Interestingly, the lecturers who handled us used complex versions of the English language hence I had to always revisit my dictionary after class or while I studied alone just to understand some of the words I was exposed to in class on a given day. So guess what, I used this to my advantage and surprised both my colleagues and lecturers on presentation days. I even got asked questions about my in-depth knowledge of these things.
One crazy thing about lectures in Winneba was the abundance of food on campus. I had no problems with this but what bugged me a bit was how close it was to the lecture halls. Food of all kinds was being sold to students at reasonable prices and I always hated the idea of eating before going for a class. This was however not the case for many of the students who enjoyed various meals like rice, beans, waakye, kenkey and fish, kokanee, and even the popular “etew” meal in Winneba at the time. On the funny side, once classes start students who ate heavily before class sessions dozed off most of the time creating a hilarious situation in class when they were caught by lecturers or friends alike.
In the last post, I made mention of backsliding academically. This was due to my work rate at Radio Windy Bay, the school’s radio station. To be honest I was doing radio ninety percent of the time. Also because I became quite recognized on campus by a few of my colleagues, I wanted to do this till level 400. I, however, had the reality check in the middle of the first semester when there were organized quizzes to examine our progression in our various courses of study. That was when I noticed things were not as easy as I thought because before studying for a paper in Inclusive Education, I was confident and expectant of getting full marks and improving my chances of getting a better GPA. However, I failed that course terribly and had a change in trajectory on campus.
I was not going to the radio studio 5 times a week again hence I made more time for my books. It was shocking to most of my colleagues because I had spoken passionately about this newfound joy on campus. I even had to let most of the handlers of the radio station know of my plight. As the academic calendar for the year drew to a close, I gave salient reasons to my bosses at the station who in return understood everything for what it was worth and gave me ample time for studying on campus. I was very much appreciative of this gesture because I was locked up in this predicament and had been battling it for months.
By the time we concluded lectures and commenced the various papers, I was well-prepared to make myself proud. Invigilators during the end-of-semester exams were our teaching assistants. These hard-working guys were with us throughout lecture periods and even went the extra mile to teach us when our lecturers were absent or unavailable. I felt their work was very important because they explained concepts better to us. Enough of that so we were assisted by these teaching assistants during the scheduled exams which of course took place at various departments. We were grouped into classes of 30 and administered the papers which were written over 2 weeks. To me, that was brilliant because it gave us ample time to prepare adequately for the various papers over a lengthy period.
Once we hit the ground running I noticed most of my colleagues cheating. Some were eventually caught and sent to various disciplinary committees on campus. Others who got away with this bragged about it on campus and schooled mates on how to get away with their academic crimes. Well exam malpractices during examination times were the least of my expectations but I saw how things were handled differently. I remember one student who was caught engaging in this act and publicly humiliated by the heads of the department immediately. Others were dismissed entirely while a section of the culprits were made to defer their courses and choose a new course the following year.
This young man’s story was so loud on campus that some of the well-known news agencies reported on it with strict rules given to perpetrators concerning this cheating act. Through it all I kept notes and thanked God I never took a path in this. Let’s be I felt tempted because I was not fully prepared to take some of the papers but I had to control my urges. After this many people were extra vigilant in the remaining papers and followed rules accordingly electronic gadgets were accepted in the halls including watches or mobile phones. School bags were placed outside the classrooms to eliminate the temptation to cheat. Students who were even sick on exam days were permitted to write on their hospital beds under strict supervision from designated invigilators.
We had extra quizzes before the end-of-semester exams which climaxed an eventful but stressful end to my level 100 experience. As the saying goes “You never know how strong you are till you go through something”. All the lecture sessions at the South Campus of the University of Education Winneba, it was a super experience filled with laughs and shocks but mostly well balanced with the freedom it brought into my life. I remember feeling happy as I packed a few of my clothes and made my way to the Winneba community station. After booking a bus ticket headed to Accra, I recollected everything I had gone through in my first year and yes of course I was astounded but glad all that happened just so I could have a lot to talk about when I got home finally.
To be continued in the next post.
Source: Weekynuuz.com