Cape Coast, Jan 5, GNA - Some 2,533 women have gained admission to pursue programmes in education and business through the University of Cape Coast's (UCC) Centre for Continuing Education (CCE). The figure is the highest female intake since the establishment of the Centre 10 years ago, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, the Vice chancellor o= f UCC, said when she matriculated the first batch of students of the CCE on campus on Wednesday.

A total of 1,034 of the 18,000 applicants obtained admission to study business and education related courses. Prof. Opoku Agyemang said the Centre had introduced programmes tailored to meet the demands and needs of the job market. These include diploma and a bachelor's degree in psychology and education foundations.

She commended mothers who had taken up the initiative to seek higher education despite the challenges.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the University was poised to deliver quality higher education despite the numerous challenges with the distance educatio= n programme and would not compromise on quality. To achieve this it had engaged 1,786 competent course tutors for all 33 study centres across the country while 28 staff are being sponsored to pursue doctoral and M Phil degree in various programmes. The Vice Chancellor enumerated some of the challenges as lack of permanent structures as study centres in the regions but added that a structure was being constructed in the Greater Accra Region and would soon start in other regions.