All Nations University College to be granted Presidential Charter
President John Dramani Mahama has assured the All Nations University College (ANUC) in Koforidua of his readiness to give it a Presidential Charter to make it a fully fledged degree-awarding university.
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He stated that he strongly believed that the university, whose pioneering role since 1996 had paved the way for the establishment of private universities in the country, “is deserving of a Presidential Charter”.
“As President, I want to assure you that in the shortest possible time, I shall have the privilege of appending my signature to the Presidential Charter,” President Mahama stated.
Addressing the 17th congregation of the university in Koforidua, the President, however, said “Indeed, if it was based on who started first, I believe that the All Nations University College should have received its Presidential Charter by now”.
In all, 354 students who had pursued various four-year programmes at the university graduated.
‘University of global attraction’
The President said at a time when there was a general perception that the provision of tertiary education at all levels was the responsibility for the government, the President of the All Nations University College, Dr Samuel H. Donkor, saw the prospect of establishing a private university in Ghana.
“In 1996, Dr Donkor’s discussions with the then Minister of Education, the late Dr Harry Sawyerr, to set up a private university was a novelty that served as a precursor today where the government and the private sector are partners in providing tertiary education.
“After his discussion with Dr Sawyerr, Dr Donkor took the steps to present the necessary master documentation and all the needed plans to the National Accreditation Board in 1996, and received the go-ahead to start running some limited degree courses.
“I am glad that the All Nations University College is one of the colleges living up to its billing of making our vision of educational hub for Africa a reality,” he stated.
Commendation
President Mahama also commended the university for emphasising science and technology courses, with 50 per cent of its graduating students coming out after pursuing oil and gas, biomedical, electronics and communications, as well as computer engineering courses.
He was also happy about the university’s commitment to its investment in its space science research programme and the ground-breaking launch of a Cansat (miniature satellite), as well as the building of a ground station to track satellites in low orbit crossing the West African coastline.
“This is innovative and worthy of attention,” President Mahama said.
He further commended the President of ANUC, Dr Donkor, for enduring the challenges of carrying through his vision of setting up the university.
The President added that the government had received a number of buses for distribution to tertiary institutions and assured the ANUC that it was one of the institutions that had been selected as a beneficiary.
Presidential Charter
Earlier, Dr Donkor had said since the inception of the university 14 years ago, it had contributed immensely to the development of Ghana and Africa by injecting innovation and quality into higher education.
He also said the university, which had attracted students from 22 African nations, was ready to introduce other innovative programmes that would boost the economy with the critical skills training needed to promote investments and increase productivity.
He, therefore, appealed to the President for a Presidential Charter.
“Another reason for All Nations University to be considered for a Presidential Charter is to honour our pioneering role in spearheading private participation in higher education in Ghana and producing quality graduates that have impacted the Ghanaian and other African nations’ economies,” Dr Donkor added.