Menson Torkornoo, Board Chairman of Abii National Savings and Loans Limited, has called for the teaching of entrepreneurship from the primary to tertiary level.
This, according to him, is the surest way by which talents can be developed to ensure financial freedom for individuals and the nation.
“For any individual in search of financial freedom or as a country, there is no other short cut but a deliberate attempt to make this workable. It is lack of this recognition that has made multitudes to wallow in poverty,” he said.
Mr. Menson, former Managing Director of Amal Bank, made the disclosure during a public lecture in Accra to celebrate the 10th anniversary of PentVars Business Journal (PBI), official journal of Pentecost University.
He outlined two major plagues that have held Ghana captive in the comity of nations of the world and made Ghanaians beggars instead of lenders.
The plagues, he said, are financial ignorance, which is lack of financial education and political corruption.
Mr. Menson said financial ignorance is a major problem because the nation has abandoned the teaching of entrepreneurship in the educational sector.
He said entrepreneurship is the spark-plug in the engine of any economic activity.
This is possible because the entrepreneurial talent, when exploited, creates economic and social prosperity, he stated.
“The time has come for a paradigm shift from the pure academic to the entrepreneurial system of education. It is time to train strategically the mind and the hand to work,” Mr. Menson said.
He disclosed that a deliberate effort must be made to teach people about entrepreneurship, financial independence and money from the primary school.
Professor Omane-Antwi, Dean of Faculty of Business Administration at PUC, in his remarks, said there is the need to develop skills-based curricular and build institutional and human resource capacity.
“Closing the digital skills gap or divide will be key if our graduates are to flourish in the fast evolving Ghanaian and global labour market.
“It is therefore vital that our students are sufficiently supported to realize the potential of information and communication technologies,” he said.
By Cephas Larbi