REV. Prof. J. O. Y. MANTE
REV. Prof. J. O. Y. MANTE, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has appealed to the government to take a second look at its level of support to the mission-founded universities in the country.
Rev. Prof. Mante urged the government to see how best it can provide educational support and incentive packages to the private universities operating in the country.
The minister of the gospel said the current capital outlay for running a university in the country is very huge, especially in the provision of quality facilities for teaching and learning.
He was speaking at the 14th graduation ceremony of the Presbyterian University College, Ghana (PUCG) at Abetifi in the Eastern Region recently where 643 students who read various programmes were graduated.
In his welcoming address, the Presbyterian Moderator implored the government to be intentional about helping the country’s private universities to position themselves to provide higher education for the citizenry as well as providing a rich human resource base to the nation.
He drew government’s attention to the fact that: “The products of the Free SHS are coming on stream very soon. The public universities are not in position to absorb all their products.”
Speaking directly to the graduands, Prof. Mante said their certificates are of no value if they cannot translate the knowledge they acquired in practical tangible reality.
“Society has high expectations of you as beneficiaries of higher education. I urge you all to contribute your quota to the building of our nation through hard work and dedication.
In his address, Very Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Adow Obeng, President of PUCG, said the 643 students were made of 336 males representing 52.3 per cent and 307 females representing 47.7 per cent.
“Out of the 643 students, 109 students made up of 51 males and 58 females had First Class, 227 made up of 142 males and 135 females obtained Second Class Upper while 237 made up of 133 males and 104 females had Second Class Lower with twenty students obtaining Third Class and Pass divisions,” he said.
The statistics, he pointed out, show that the majority of the students representing 52.25 per cent are within the First Class and Second Class Upper divisions. This suggests an overall good performance of the students.
Speaking on the theme, “The ‘New Normal’; And the Role of Tertiary Institutions”, Prof. Adow Obeng noted that Ghana and its tertiary institutions need to prepare for a post COVID-19 world.
FROM James Quansah, Kumasi