CHURCH Teachers’ College has opened a campus in Brown’s Town, St Ann to offer degree programmes in several disciplines, come September.

Principal of the college Garth Anderson said the opening of the campus in Brown’s Town is testimony that the institution is living up to its vision statement of meeting the varying educational needs in different communities.

“It also means that we are giving persons an opportunity to excel and to do well in all areas; because we recognise that teacher education does not only provide an opportunity for you to work inside the classroom, but in various other fields,” Anderson told the Jamaica Observer North East.

Approximately 80 prospective students have already submitted applications.

In addition to degree programmes in physical education, science and social studies, the institution will also be offering a programme for Diploma-trained teachers who wish to upgrade to a degree.

Anderson said the institution was grateful for the opportunity to reach out to the community as the purpose of the campus in Brown’s Town was also to support the broader educational needs of the area.

“After 47 years we are proud that we have confidently made our mark and remain true to our mission of nurturing men and women who are highly competent in their pedagogical skills, acquire a zest for knowledge, capable for motivating those they teach and develop positive attitude, values and morals,” Anderson added.

President of Church Teachers’ College and Anglican Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, Right Reverend Howard Gregory, has commended the board of management for its vision and determination to expand the educational offering of the institution.

Addressing the official opening of the campus recently, Bishop Gregory said tertiary education in Jamaica has taken on a new and higher level pursuit, which has resulted in great competitiveness.

“This competitiveness must be seen as a way for the college to continue make its mark and find a niche for its continued effectiveness in the pursuit of academic excellence in the intellectual community,” he said.

Gregory, who lectured at the facility and was Chaplain for many years, said he was pleased that the institution was continuing on the love, mission and commitment in advancing higher education in Jamaica, adding that he hoped the new campus would serve the Brown’s Town community and its environs in the same way the main campus in Manchester had done.

Past student of the institution and Dean of the School of Education at Fayetteville State University, Professor Leontye Lewis, in delivering the keynote address, described her alma mater as a trailblazer.

She spoke passionately about her days at the institution and the lecturers who played a major role in shaping who she has become today. Professor Lewis commended the institution for creating the opportunity for people in Brown’s Town and other areas to realise their dream of becoming educators.

“I love to teach, I’m a teacher, and I believe that it is my call to continue to work with adults to help them to be able to empower additional persons, and in order for me to do that, Church (Teacher’s College) laid that foundation,” she said.

She told the new applicants, some of whom were present during the opening, that the training they will receive at the college should help them to become the country’s greatest human resource.

“Teaching is not just staying in your classroom, it’s not going to be just here in these three classrooms; it is going to be taking what you learn here, even before you have been designated as being a teacher, and going out in that community to grow that community,” she said.

Professor Lewis said she was also hoping to create a partnership between her institution and the college where various international courses can be offered through a distance learning system or cultural exchange programme.