Government launches initiative to strengthen relations with students
The government has launched the Campus Connect initiative, being championed by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with student leaders and management of tertiary institutions, to strengthen relations between the government and the student body.
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The initiative, which also seeks to stimulate intellectual discussions on governance in the higher institutions of learning, is to enable the government to receive feedback from students on the impact of its policies and programmes on them.
Officials at the launch
Launching the initiative at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Johnny Osei Kofi, urged students to take advantage of the initiative to engage government officials on issues that have impact on them.
The launch was attended by Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Deputy Minister of Education (Tertiary); Dr Omane Boamah, Minister of Communications; Mr Fiifi Kwetey, Minister of Agriculture and Mrs Joyce Bawah, Deputy Minister of Tourism; the heads of all agencies under the Ministry of Education, as well as managers of the UDS.
The various agencies represented were the Students Loan Trust, National Service Scheme, National Accreditation Board, National Council for Tertiary Education and the National Youth Authority.
Mr Kofi said the presence of government officials and heads of departments and agencies at the programme demonstrated the importance that the government attached to the initiative.
“These individuals are here for you to engage them adequately on issues confronting you as students and your progression in life.
“You are partners to this initiative, therefore, we expect that you will table your issues appropriately for redress in our collective responsibility to document the challenges confronting you and finding lasting solutions to them,” the Deputy Chief of Staff told the students.
He said the initiative formed part of President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge to promote accountable and transparent governance.
Mr Kofi commended the Ministry of Education for the initiative, which he said would develop, nurture and arouse the interest of Ghanaian youth in the governance of the country and said the initiative would be replicated on campuses across the country.
Background of Campus Connect
Giving a background to the initiative, Mr Ablakwa assured the students that Campus Connect was a non-partisan programme aimed at bringing governance to the doorstep of students.
He said the hope was that the initiative would address the challenges that students face on their campuses; that was why different ministries were represented at the launch.
Mr Ablakwa said a cardinal principle of good governance was feedback so Campus Connect was expected to be interactive.
He said there were various social media platforms on which students could share their views, questions and comments and gave those platforms as: www.campusconnectgh.org; twitter- @campusconnectgh or #campusconnectgh and facebook- Campus Connect Gh
Advice
The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kwetey, said students should not expect the government to provide employment for them after school, explaining that what governments everywhere did was to create the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.
He also said if the country was to develop as expected, then the youth had to turn their challenges into opportunities.
For his part, Dr Boamah advised students to take their studies seriously and not consider certain policies instituted by school authorities as punitive.
Appeal
The outgoing SRC President of the UDS, Mr Raphael Kumah, while thanking the government for the initiative, called on the Electricity Company to put in place an arrangement to help students study sufficiently to be able to write their end-of-semester examination, in view of the current power rationing exercise.
He appealed for the erection of a police post to ensure that students moved around the campus without fear of being attacked, and the construction of a hospital not only to address the health needs of the students, but also as to enable the medical students to undertake their practicals.
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