Tertiary institutions advised to partner professional bodies to enrich courses
The President of the Chattered Institute of Bankers-Ghana, Rev. Mrs Patricia Sappor, has reiterated the need for tertiary institutions to partner professional bodies to enrich their curricula.
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According to her, there was a wide gap between industry and academia, recommending that it could be bridged if professional insight, knowledge and industry experience could complement the knowledge obtained from universities.
“We can be partners in this drive, complementing each other for the benefit of our students as well as improving the level of education in this nation. Having a blend of academic and professional courses puts students in better positions to find jobs upon graduation,” she said.
Addressing the 17th congregation of the Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC) on Saturday, Mrs Sappor observed that one aspect of education which was sometimes overlooked was professional education.
However, she believed that professional studies had the potential of enriching the traditional university education.
“I believe professionals make a huge difference in their fields of study as they advance from just acquiring general knowledge to specialising in a particular field of study.
The hybrid of general knowledge and specialised fields of study will ensure that students who graduate from a university are ready to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of them,” she said.
She said concurrent curriculum provided greater opportunities for incorporating theory and practice that reduced the time spent to complete professional examinations.
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“Professional education including banking, law, medicine, accountancy provides in-depth knowledge of their fields of study with practical and hands-on experience in those fields. By developing codes of ethics that students are required to adhere to, professional associations improve on the quality of the professionals they produce,” she added.
Mrs Sappor then recommended that tertiary institutions began designing the appropriate curriculum that had an entrepreneurship and innovation base in order to equip students with business ideas that could be tried in the classroom and ready for full execution by the time they graduate.
“The establishment of innovation centres on our campuses will support students in the early stages of conceptualisation of ideas through to commercialisation, creating the atmosphere for partnerships between industry and academia,” she added.
Congregation
A total of 130 students graduated with postgraduate qualifications in different fields.
Miss Hamdia Amidu was awarded the overall best student, MBA Global Business.
The theme for the 17th congregation was dubbed, “The role of professional associations in university curriculum development.”
President GTUC
The President of GTUC, Prof. Osei K. Darkwa, said the theme was chosen to focus on the support and partnership that professional associations could provide to complement the university curriculum development.
“At GTUC, our focus is to produce graduates who add value to their prospective employers and the communities they live in. The institution has established active institutions such as the Chartered Institute of Taxations (CIT), and the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIB). Through these initiatives, we intend to integrate our business schools and have our students benefit from the practical training that professional institutions have to offer,” he said.
He advised the graduates to contribute meaningfully to the development of society and Ghana as a whole.
“We believe your training here at this university has given you knowledge and moulded your perception about life and its experiences. We have confidence that this training will be put to excellent use. We urge you to take interest in activities around you and be advocates for your community,” he added.