UEW confers doctorates on 3 personalities
The Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, has deplored the way some tertiary institutions have strayed from their core mandate to engage in activities that are at variance to their objectives.
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He said it behoved institutions of higher learning to keep to good ethical practices that could help create the platform for them to produce professionals with integrity, instead of compromising on the objectives for which they were established.
Mr Amissah-Arthur was addressing a special congregation of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) yesterday, at which a former President, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings; a former Nigerian President, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd), and the first Vice-Chancellor of the UEW, Professor Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, were awarded honorary doctorate degrees.
Seven students who pursued doctorate degree programmes in English and Linguistics also graduated.
Awards
The three personalities were recognised for their various contributions to the development of education and peace in the West African sub-region.
While former President Rawlings was honoured for establishing the UEW during his tenure as President, General Abubakar was recognised for leading Nigeria into democratic governance, after having served as interim President of that country.
Having played a pivotal role in the development of the university as its first Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Anamuah-Mensah was honoured for his good leadership qualities that had brought the university thus far.
Mr Amissah-Arthur described the conferment of awards on the three personalities for their diverse contributions to development as admirable and underscored the need for tertiary institutions to shift their emphasis from the Humanities to Science and Technology which, he said, were critical now.
Advice
He advised the seven graduates to use the knowledge they had acquired at the university to develop the critical skills needed to develop the country and asked the university to ensure that its programmes were in tandem with its core business.
He lauded the university authorities for expanding the structures of the UEW and their decision to expand the university further to accommodate more students.
Awardees commended
The Vice-President lauded former President Rawlings for bringing about reforms at the basic education level that created the foundation for the creation of the UEW.
He added that the former President also ensured that the appropriate legislative instrument was put in place for the establishment of the University for Development Studies.
Mr Amissah-Arthur commended General Abubakar for championing Nigeria’s democracy, although he had served as President for less than one year, and Prof. Anamuah-Mensah for his contribution to the development of the university.
Rawlings
Former President Rawlings, on behalf of the awardees, expressed appreciation to the university authorities for recognising their efforts.
He expressed abhorrence for the culture of indiscipline and moral decadence which, he said, were now rife in society.
Turning his attention to the government, former President Rawlings criticised it for condoning corruption and called on the President to “sit up”.
He said this was the time for less talk and more action, since Ghanaians were reeling from hardships.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the UEW, Prof Akwasi Asabre-Ameyaw, in his welcome remarks, expressed the university’s commitment to produce professionals who would contribute their quota to the development of the country.
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