University of Ghana College of Humanities holds 2017 congregation

Dr Grace Ayensu Danquah, a Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast Medical School, has urged authorities of the University of Ghana to make selection of courses more flexible at the University.

This, she said, would give students the chance of exploring more options to suit their talents and targets of achieving their future careers.

Dr Danquah was speaking at the congregation of the College of Humanities of the University of Ghana on Thursday, where 9,397 students from 29 countries graduated.

She urged the graduates to consider the first degree they had obtained as a starting point and a stepping stone to build on.

“You must explore new possibilities; you need to study hard and be truthful to yourselves,” she said.

Dr Danquah, who is also a Physician Specialist in Trauma/Burn and Reconstructive Surgery, advised the graduates to look beyond the humanities and choose a field or a subject that would help them find greater fulfilment.

She urged them but to dream big, challenge themselves and break new grounds to achieve what they had always dreamt of attaining in life.

“Remember that education has no end, so cultivate the habit of constantly reading and learning.

“Remember that the days where people look to government to provide jobs are far gone, not only here in Ghana, but globally. So you need to think outside the box and create new opportunities for yourselves,” Dr Danquah.

She said personal qualities such as respect for time, punctuality, sense of urgency and reliability were qualities that everybody needed to succeed.

Professor Kwame Offei, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs, on behalf of Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, the Vice-Chancellor, said in line with the University’s vision to position itself as a world-class research-intensive university over the next decade, a strategic plan was launched in 2014 to serve as a roadmap towards attaining the vision.

He said nine strategic teams were formed and inaugurated in November 2016 to drive the University to the status of a ‘Go to University,’ which potential students around the world would desire to attend.

Prof. Offei said through the collective efforts of the strategic teams, progress had been made with regard to the achievement of the core mandate.

He seized the opportunity to express appreciation to the chairpersons and members of the respective teams for championing the progress of the University’s strategic direction.

He said in the 2017/2018 admission cycle, the University admitted 14,129 students to the various programmes run on the main Campus, Korle-Bu Campus, and Accra City Campus and by distance learning.

He said the number comprised 11,707 undergraduates and 2,421 graduate students and that those numbers included 389 international/visiting students from across the world.

“For the University of Ghana to have required capacity to achieve its vision and absorb the increasing need for higher education across the world, quality infrastructural facilities are necessary,” he said.