By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, Aug. 20, GNA – Professor Kwesi Yankah,
Minister of State in-charge of Tertiary Education, has urged parents and
guardians to buy into Government’s flagship programme – the free Senior High
School (SHS) Double-Track Policy.
He said the educational benefits of the free
SHS Double-Track Policy would benefit all segments of society.
“The policy is the way out, to take
children off the streets and eventually enable them to be admitted into
universities like the UPSA and other tertiary institutions,” Prof Yankah
stated at the 10th Congregation of the University of Professional
Studies, Accra (UPSA).
“Who knows how many Opoku Ampomahs (the
founder of UPSA), Ghana would be losing if our sense of creativity eludes us at
such critical moments in history,” he said.
“We should indeed rise to the occasion,
and catch up with contemporary trends in optimization in the use of limited
resources.”
He noted however that, even as the nation
adjusts to the use of space to cope with numbers at SHS’s, there was the need
to start the process of preparing the grounds for the influx of SHS students,
who would be knocking on the doors of tertiary institutions in 2020, when the
first batch of free SHS graduates get to the tertiary level.
The Congregation, which was chaired by Drolor
Bosso Adamtey I, the Chancellor of the UPSA, saw total of 3,387 students
graduating.
Out of this number, 498 diplomates, 2,301
undergraduates and 588 postgraduate students.
At the undergraduate level, a total of 31,
representing 1.35 per cent of the graduating class obtained First Class
degrees, 653 or 28.38 per cent had Second Class Upper degrees, 896 or 38.94 per
cent with Second Class Lower degrees, 499 or 21 .69 per cent with Third Class
degrees and the remaining 222 or 9.65 per cent went home with Pass degrees.
Seventeen or 3.41 per cent of the diplomates
attained istinction, while 291 obtained credit and I90 obtained pass.
Prof Yankah said the Government considers the
citizens of this country as the nation’s greatest assets and seeks to transform
Ghana by transforming the quality of her human resource base.
He said quality education, which forms the
foundation of a high quality human resource, was what the Government brings to
Ghana’s long term vision; stating that, this would be achieved through the
medium of education.
He assured that the Free SHS Policy had come
to stay, and that, it would move into its second phase in a few weeks, when
students admitted last year 2017, move to year two, and a new set of students get
admitted and enrolled in year one.
“Having made a reference to the Free SHS
policy, let me as well calm any anxieties about the current topical issue of
the double-track enrolment policy, which is about to take off,” he said.
“This policy is no way a signal that the
free SHS policy is in tatters, or been suddenly put in reverse gear,” the
Minister added.
He said just as the free SHS policy, in its
first year, enabled 90,000 extra students to go to High School, the
double-track policy was meant to rescue some 180,000 students, whose
educational future could be curtailed or jeopardized.
“The Government is simply saying these
boys and girls are stranded; let’s be creative and rescue these kids at a
critical part of their lives, let’s be compassionate, or else posterity will
never forgive us,” he said.
“Instead of using classrooms for only
parts of the year, why don’t we optimize the use of space by teaching the first
batch from September to December, and while the classrooms and other facilities
lie idle, another batch comes in to use it.
“It simply says, ’let’s not waste
unutilized space, while kids are stranded; let’s use space wisely by taking
turns to use the same space. Let’s optimize the use of space if for nothing at
all, to save children otherwise lost at sea.”
He said this space adjustment policy was only
temporary.
“It will be brought to an end when
Government is able to catch up with infrastructure in the next few years.
Thereafter, the normal rhythm of schooling will be restored.”
Prof Yankah congratulated the UPSA Founder, Mr
Opoku Ampomah for his vision in establishing the institution.
He further lauded Prof Joshua Aiabi, immediate
past Vice Chancellor, UPSA, for his visionary and transformational leadership,
which had turned the fortunes of the
University around.
Prof Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey, the
Vice-Chancellor, UPSA, in his report to the Congregation, said when he assumed
office, one of their top-most priorities
was to develop a new strategic plan to replace the existing one which expired
on August 20 l 7.
“I am happy to inform you that we have
been able to deliver on that by coming up with a new five-year Strategic Plan
(2018-2022),” he said.
He said the new Strategic Plan offers a clear
articulation of their vision for the next five years and would serve as a
roadmap, as they sought to deliver excellence and position UPSA for future success.
He said the Strategic Plan outlines objectives
and strategies, specific opportunities and ways to measure their progress.
He said the Plan would be subjected to
constant objective reviews to establish its impact and maintain its relevance.
Prof Amartey said during the academic year
under-review, the University established a Distance Learning School (DLS) with
the mandate to plan and implement distance learning strategies and oversee its
operations.
He said accordingly, the DLS had been tasked
with the mission “to provide affordable, convenient and quality higher
education opportunities to prospective students, who were motivated to be self-directed
learners but were constrained with time, space, distance
or adequate material resources to access the
conventional class
meeting method”.
To the graduands, Prof Amartey said:
“Wherever you will be in this world, I beseech you to uphold the values of
integrity and professionalism. Be above reproach and take the moral high
ground.
Don’t let the noise of others stifle your
silent inner voice.”
Dr Yossie Shevel, the President of Galilee
International Management Institute, Israel, who was the guest of honour, said education
plays a critical role in the socioeconomic transformation of every nation.
He said the State of Israel had advanced
because of education, adding that, the world was changing very fast, therefore,
nations have to prepare themselves for it through education:
GNA
KKY