Professor Albert Luguterah, the Principal of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Navrongo Campus, has said innovative and demand driven academic programmes would be expanded once the University becomes autonomous.

He said the science-based University would focus and add more technology driven courses including medical and engineering sciences to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed for national development and transformation.

Prof. Luguterah said this at the matriculation ceremony of the school, in Navrongo, to officially admit first year undergraduate and postgraduate students into the University.

Last year, President Akufo-Addo announced that the Navrongo and Wa campuses of the UDS would be made autonomous universities.

Following this, Parliament in July, this year, passed the Bill awaiting presidential assent for the conversion of the two campuses into autonomous universities, to be called the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS) and the University of Business and Integrated Development, respectively.

Professor Luguterah said despite the challenges the school was facing, it had remained a good ground for research and one of the best that offered Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mathematical and Applied Sciences.

“Converting the campus into an autonomous university would further help to solve bureaucratic administrative challenges and speed up decision making processes of the school,” he said.

Prof. Gabriel Ayum Teye, the Vice-Chancellor of UDS, in a speech read on his behalf, warned the staff to avoid “exchanging sex for grades.”

He said the University had a strong policy that did not condone sexual harassment and encouraged the students who might be sexually harassed to report to the authorities for redress.

Out of the total number of 19,193 applicants, the University admitted 9,476, comprising 9,232 undergraduates and 254 postgraduate students to pursue programmes on all its four campuses including Nyankpala, Tamale, Navrongo and Wa for the 2019/2020 academic year.