Minister swears in University of Ghana Governing Council
The Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has tasked managers of tertiary institutions in Ghana to come up with policies that will project the image of the country’s universities globally.
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Citing the recent Thompson Reuters rankings that named the University of Ghana as the seventh best tertiary institution in Africa, she said the grade proved that the country’s universities had the potential of attaining greater heights if the right policies were implemented.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said this when she swore in a 28-member governing council for the University of Ghana in Accra last Tuesday.
Chaired by a former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, the council is made up of government appointees and management of the university.
The council is responsible for the governance of the university by ensuring the attainment of its vision of becoming a “world-class research-intensive university” over the next decade.
It is tasked to come up with policies that will boost the image of the university.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang reminded managers of the tertiary institutions of their mandate to focus on removing barriers that might hinder the delivery of quality education.
She stated that although the government was determined and ready to invest in the education sector, there was the need for stakeholders to contribute their quota in improving the standard of education.
Government’s interventions
Announcing some of the interventions implemented by the government in the tertiary sector, Prof. Opoku-Agyeman said the bill for the construction of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development had been passed into law and that the government was at the stage of acquiring funds for construction.
“Also, the Technical University bill was laid in Parliament on June 2, 2016 and Parliament is taking the necessary actions to ensure its realisation for the conversion to take off this September,” she said.
According to Professor Opoku-Agyemang, various programmes and projects, including capacity building for faculty, retooling of laboratories and academic facilities and upgrading of infrastructure, were ongoing to equip the converted polytechnics adequately to deliver on their mandate.
Other interventions such as the establishment of the tertiary education research fund, a five-year technical assistance and capacity building support, the implementation of the transforming teacher education and learning programme, she stated, were on course.
Council ready to work
The Chairman of the Governing Council, Professor Ahwoi, gave an assurance that the council was prepared to implement policies that would further project the university’s image.
He also commended President John Mahama for the confidence reposed in them by selecting him and other members of the council to manage the university.
