Mr. Chairman Chancellor of Pentecost University College and Chairman of the Church of Pentecost
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SPEECH DELIVERED BY PROFESSOR WILLIAM OTOO ELLIS, VICE- CHANCELLOR OF KNUST AT THE 2ND GRADUATION CEREMONY OF PENTECOST UNIVERSITY COLLEGE ON SATURDAY, 12TH FEBRUARY, 2011 AT 9.00AM AT THE COLLEGE AUDITORIUM – SOWUTUOM, ACCRA ON THE THEME “THE ROLE OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT” Mr. Chairman Chancellor of Pentecost University College and Chairman of the Church of Pentecost Chairman and Members of the PUC Council Rector of PUC Registrar of PUC Reverend Ministers Distinguished Invited Guests Staff and Students of PUC Ladies and Gentlemen I bring you warm and fraternal greetings from staff and students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi. I am deservedly happy and, indeed, very proud to be part of this morning’s graduation ceremony, which I am informed is the second in the history of our University. We can only be grateful to the Lord for this opportunity to have this graduation ceremony today especially on the back drop of 1 circumstances that necessitated postponing the programme which was to have been held last year December. Congregation or graduation ceremonies have been part of the history of Universities and such ceremonies have served as moments to present certificates to graduands who have followed a prescribed course of study. It, therefore, gives me great pleasure to congratulate all graduands for blazing the storm and achieving this feat. I must also commend all those who in one way or the other, contributed to your success today. In this respect, I commend your able lecturers, school administrators, parents and guardians and it is my hope that you would not let them ever regret having spent on your education. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, our nation has been saddled with the problem of inadequate accessibility to quality tertiary education for some time now. This problem stems from the fact that, expansion of our traditional universities have not been commensurate with demand, despite several interventions and initiatives from stakeholders such as distance learning, e- learning, sandwich programmes, and improvement in 2 infrastructure base; thereby cutting off a lot of potential graduates with its attendant problems. For instance, out of the 21,230 qualified applicants, only 13,920 applicants were admitted into the KNUST during the 2010/2011 academic year. During the 2008/2009 academic year too, we admitted only 8,258 out of the 12,218 qualified applicants. The gap is as a result of problems such as run down infrastructure, inadequate lecture theatres and studios, inadequate academic staff, and outmoded laboratory equipment, among others. In order to stem this tide, Ghana has seen a lot of private participation in the provision of education, especially at the tertiary level. In this light, several churches such as the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the Methodist Church, the Anglican Church, the Catholic Church and the Seventh Day Adventist Church among others, have all established universities and colleges. The Church of Pentecost, as a major stakeholder in the nation’s development also rightly established the Pentecost University College in response to public demand for the training of graduates with integrity and the fear of God. Despite these interventions, the Government has, and still 3 remains the main financier of education in the country. Nonetheless, we should also recognize the fact that private agents, especially, churches also deliver a sizable share of the country’s education. Mr. Chairman, the issue before us now is that of the role of private universities in national development. Generally speaking, the role of universities in the 21st century has been phenomenal. Universities help a nation in its economic independence, scientific prowess, a broad outline of social change and global competitiveness, through innovation and research. Specifically, the first and perhaps the most widely understood economic development role of private universities and for that matter, all universities is in human resource development. Indeed, successful economic development, first and foremost, an efficient successful workforce, and across the nation, remains the number one issue for business and industry. In today's knowledge-based economy, human capital is business capital. Thus, human resource development is one thing that all higher educational institutions share in common and private universities cannot be excluded. 4 Another role private universities can play in national development is the provision of a platform for technological research into development oriented problems. Problems of water supply, sanitation, malaria, unemployment, food insecurity, access to health care and basic education, infant mortality and malnutrition, as well as inadequate power supply among others. These should be part of the research agenda of private universities in an attempt to find better ways of dealing with such societal problems. This way, your research activities will have a direct bearing on societal good and its development. Private universities can also help in our national development aspiration by serving as engines for economic development through the production of new knowledge. This is because in addition to human resource development, successful economies also require progressive innovation that will improve the competitiveness of existing industries, as well as lead to the creation of new industries. In other words, it is from research that new companies are born; that new jobs are created and it is also from research that new wealth is created and the economy expands. It is, therefore, only natural that research should be 5 considered as a fundamental driver for a nation’s economic development and private universities should be seen to be playing an active role in this respect in addition to what our traditional universities are doing. From the above role, the provision of a platform for intellectual property transfer, such as the licensing of patents, copyrights, process know-how, and the start up of new businesses can be one of the major roles private universities can play in our national development agenda. Success in this new world economy partly belongs to those that create and nurture their intellectual capital that helps in creating new knowledge and new technologies. This will boost the fortunes of industry, expand employment opportunities and ultimately expand the economy in immeasurable terms. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as one of the core functions of universities worldwide, the provision of service to the community should definitely be one of the cardinal roles private universities can play in national development. It is through community engagement that the various activities of a 6 university such as teaching and research benefit the people. In this direction, private universities can facilitate the use of university resources to support existing partnerships and engage new partners to contribute to the educational, social, and economic progress of the Ghanaian people. The university can also facilitate, co-ordinate and advance support systems and outreach initiatives through the establishment of effective relationship and partnerships to advance the core needs of the community. Several other roles such as capacity building and manpower development, research and development, and technology transfer to industry are all roles private universities and by a wider stretch, all universities can play in our national development aspiration. In fact, in some cases, private universities for one reason or the other become the only avenue for some people to attain tertiary education and this unique role cannot be glossed over. It is, therefore, incumbent on our private universities to be seen to be at the forefront in championing the nation’s development drive and I use this 7 opportunity to call on the Pentecost University College to be a torch bearer in this respect. Mr. Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I would want to conclude my address by congratulating the Chairman and members of the governing council of PUC, the Rector and his corps of administrators for the feat the University has achieved thus far and the hope for greater achievements in the near future. I am proud to know of your sterling achievements in other areas such as sports, especially, during the annual Private Universities Students’ Association of Ghana (PUSAG) games. I urge you to keep the torch of excellence and discipline burning at all times and in fact, become pace setters in private university education in the country. With the vision of the Univeristy “to empower students to serve their own generation and posterity with integrity and the fear of God”, I have little doubt that graduands have been imbued with self confidence, networking skills, tolerance and ability to work in multi-cultural environments. The Anthem of the Univeristy further lays emphasis on the tenets of service with 8 integrity and sincerity to wit “empowered to serve generations and posterity, empowered to serve with integrity and sincere service to humanity”. I hope all graduands of this University will live by these aspirations and be worthy ambassadors of your alma mater. I wish all graduands very well in their future endeavours and pray for the advancement of this University of ours. Thank you and God be with you all. 9 .