Govt focused on developing human capital for transformation
Sixty-one students, comprising 46 business and 15 engineering students, yesterday graduated from the Madina Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) in Accra.
At the same event, 76 fresh students admitted for the 2020/2021 academic year were also matriculated.
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Established in 2013, the MIST currently has two schools — the School of Business and Technology and the School of Engineering — which it runs through its affiliation with the University for Development (UDS) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Government vision
The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who was the special guest of honour, commended the sponsors, the council, the management, staff, parents, students and all who had contributed in diverse ways to sustain the school till date.
He said the vision of the government was focused on developing the human capital for the transformation of the country, with young people being central to the agenda.
That agenda, he explained, was the vision that had informed the implementation of the free senior high school (SHS) programme since 2017.
He stressed that the interest of the youth in science, technology and innovation must be encouraged and nurtured, as those were the building blocks for the new Ghana which was data-driven and a knowledge-based digital economy.
Public administration
Dr Bawumia called for improvement in public administration and the delivery of public services to formalise the economy, improve revenue mobilisation, deepen and broaden financial inclusiveness in the growth processes and curb bribery and corruption.
He said the government had, since 2018, worked hard to leverage technology for development, culminating in the introduction of the Ghana Card, the Digital Address System, Mobile Money Interoperability, the Universal QR Code and the Ghana.Gov platform.
He said it was those enablers that were enabling several applications and making digital transformation the driver of growth.
“All these achievements, and a lot more in the pipeline, have been made possible because the government is using the synergy between technology and the right human capital, knowledge, skills and mindset,” the Vice-President said.
He was happy that the MIST had made the effort, with the support of the KNUST, to seek accreditation from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to roll out programmes in Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Science and Innovation and Technology Management.
Dr Bawumia urged the students to continue to apply the knowledge they had acquired in practical ways to improve the communities in which they lived.
Equipment
The President of the MIST, Professor Abdulai Salifu Asuro, appealed for more equipment for the School of Engineering and its laboratory, as well as scholarships for needy students to further their education.
He advised the graduands to work diligently as they stepped out into the world and eschew get-rich-quick habits.
The Chairman of the Council of the MIST, Mr Salem Kifah Kalmoni, for his part, urged the graduands to quickly form an alumni association and freely give back to the school that had nurtured them.
The school
The MIST was established as a non-profit organisation in 2013 by the Madina Foundation for Science and Technology to provide quality tertiary education for individuals who aspire to acquire and advance knowledge in science and technology.
The foundation has, since 2010, established many basic and SHSs, including one solely for orphans.
The MIST, which was built on its heritage as an Islamic institution that upholds traditional Islamic values and ethics, was granted institutional accreditation by the GTEC in June 2016.
It has a Centre for Professional Development and a Language Centre, while it looks forward to establishing an Islamic Banking Centre soon.
