President challenges higher learning institutions

Koforidua, Feb. 23, GNA- President John Agyekum Kufuor has challenged the country's universities and other higher learning institutions to train practical scientists to influence the society and facilitate the nation's entry into mainstream globalization. He said the talk of Ghana becoming a modern society would remain a vain talk without a solid scientific human resource base and therefore challenged the universities to drive their programmes along this premise.

President Kufuor made these observations at the grand opening of the All Nations University College (ANU) at Koforidua in the Eastern Region on Friday.

All Nations University, the first private University in the Eastern Region runs programmes in Electronics and Communications Engineering, Computer Engineering and Biomedical Sciences. President Kufuor, who donated one billion cedis on behalf of the government to support the institution said, unless 93we make the application of science part of our culture, the rapid development of the nation may elude us."

He said it was for this reason that the New Educational Reform to be implemented in September has been carefully designed to make Science and Mathematics attractive to students.

President Kufuor said this was the idea behind the designation of fifteen of the thirty-eight Teacher Training Colleges in the country to specialize in Science and Mathematics Education to produce the requisite number of quality teachers for the reforms.

He described the courses run by the University as among the most relevant noting that, training in those fields would enable the students to secure gainful employment to launch themselves in private business.

President Kufuor urged the college to also include entrepreneurial training in its curriculum.

He said, as the nation celebrated 50 years of nationhood, it was important for the youth of Ghana to resolve to make excellence their hallmark.

This, he pointed out, required self-discipline, hard work and understanding of the world around them.

The President of ANU, the Reverend Dr Samuel Donkor, commended the government, especially President Kufuor for the yeoman's job in donating a bus to the university which has enabled the school to decentralize its programmes to benefit people as far as Kumasi and its surrounding areas.

Dr. Donkor pleaded with government to consider granting loans to private Universities to enable them to help solve the problem of access to tertiary education in the country and by so doing help train the people to adopt new mental structures which are conducive for development and key in smashing old false notions and traditions. The Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area and Professor Emeritus at the University, Daasebre Dr Oti Boateng, said the University was an important variable in the country's strive for peace, progress and prosperity.

He pledged the unalloyed support of the council to support ANU to deliver on its mandate.