UEW 27th congregation: Management, staff urged to unite for optimum potential
A total of 12,996 students have graduated from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), with a call on the university to work to improve on issues of unity to complement efforts at resolving misunderstandings affecting the university.
Advertisement
The Director of Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education, Dr Yayra Dzakadzie, who made the call, said the university’s ability to reach unity in diversity would be the beauty of its scholarship.
“I have observed, with keen interest, the dramatic issues with the operations of this university, its branding, its outlook, which is gradually eroding, and calling for a lot of attention in the tertiary education space in Ghana.
“I want to use this opportunity to encourage management and staff to continue to work hard to improve on issues of unity to compliment government’s efforts so far,” he stated.
Dr Dzakadzie was speaking at the last of a six-day session of the university’s 27th congregation at Winneba over the weekend.
Out of the total number graduated, 386, representing 2.96 per cent, were awarded with diplomas; 11,690, representing 89.9 per cent, were awarded first degrees while 921, representing 7.09 per cent, were awarded postgraduate degrees.
They included 7,722 males and 4,303 females.
Dr Dzakadzie said the development of the university would, to a large extent, depend on how management and staff are able to work in unity to surmount challenges and accomplish their goals.
He noted that while the university remained a huge centre of knowledge and research, it was worrying that its members had not been able to live in unity.
STEM education
Dr Dzakadzie said government and the ministry of education were working to develop science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to promote and develop critical thinkers to help accelerate the nation’s development.
He said it was in that regard that seven new STEM high schools had been fully operationalised, adding that government was also building five STEM-based universities in the country.
The Chairman of the university’s Governing Council, Nana Ofori Ansah I, in his speech earlier at the ceremony, asked disgruntled members of the university to come on board for the forward march of the institution.
Concerned staff
He said there were still elements who, under the guise of “concerned staff”, keep churning out falsehood about the council, particularly its chairman and the Vice Chancellor and his management team.
“Others are turning to the courts on simple administrative matters while others are using surrogates, most of whom have nothing to do with the university, to attempt to stop any normal move taken by council or management through frivolous applications to court for injunctions or other unnecessary reviews.
“Ladies and gentlemen, can you imagine someone living at Dansoman or Kasoa applying to the courts to restrain council from meeting to deliberate on and approve the university’s 2023 budget, which was to be submitted to Parliament and Ministry of Finance for financial clearance so that the university can continue running,” he wondered.
He extended a hand of friendship to the “concerned staff” and “surrogates” to help resolve all misunderstandings.
The Vice Chancellor (VC) of the university, Professor Mawutor Avoke, advised the graduands to develop top-notch innovative solutions to problems to make them stand out.
