Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Otumfuo Agyemang Prempeh II to be honoured

Kumasi, June 27, GNA - The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) will, as part of activities marking its 60th Anniversary Celebrations, institute a Founders' Day event, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene and Chancellor of the University has announced.

The Day which would be marked on the fourth Friday of every November, aims at recognizing and also honouring Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President, and the late Otumfuo Osei Agyemang Prempeh 11, Asantehene, for their vision, instrumentality and sense of purpose, which led to the establishment of the University.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu said the official launch had been slated for November 25, this year, to climax the Anniversary which is being commemorated on the theme 93KNUST at 60 96 Achievements, Prospects and Challenges".

He was speaking at the official launch of the Anniversary Celebrations in Kumasi.

Activities lined-up include open days, seminars, colloquium, exhibitions, inter-faculty lectures and collegiate games. The Chancellor indicated that through the joint efforts, dedication, determination, zeal and resilience of the two personalities, the University was destined with the mandate of trailblazing Ghana's Science and Technology development and advancement.

Founded in 1951, KNUST has as its core mandate to train and educate the nation's critical human resources in the areas of Engineering, Science and Applied Sciences, Pharmacy and Dentistry, the Environment, agriculture, art and technology imbued with Social Sciences rubrics. Otumfuo Osei Tutu expressed satisfaction that 93the University had met its mandate in leaps and bounds', adding 93In Ghana, the story is told that there is no Ghana without KNUST".

This, he said, was manifested by the large pool of alumni of the University who have excelled in all spheres of the nation's endeavours.

He cited in particular the meaningful contributions of the alumni to developing the Electricity Company of Ghana, Volta River Authority, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Tema Oil Refinery, hospitals, schools, ministries, agencies and international organizations.

On distance education, the Chancellor hinted of plans by the authorities to establish two new campuses in Accra and Kumasi to spearhead the KNUST's determination for greater and open access to Science and Technology for all Ghanaians.

He acknowledged that challenges facing the University in the modern era 93lie in the quest to promote quality and internationally-acclaimed standards of higher education in the context of the current national development agenda, dwindling resources and national economy.

"Our challenges lie in our cherished determination to be Ghana and Africa's best and one of the finest Centres of Excellence in Science and Technology training.

Our challenges lie in the production of graduates and alumni who are dedicated to the cause of the nation and continent, alumni who are imbued with values and ethics of social and public service, development-oriented and human-centred and also ready to offer their lives and services for the growth and development of Ghana and Africa", Otumfuo Osei Tutu stated.

Professor William Otoo Ellis, the Vice-Chancellor, indicated that a Committee had been tasked to review the statutes and acts of the University to reflect modern trends in higher education.