Winneba, May 15, GNA - Ms Elizabeth Ohene, the Minister of State responsible for Tertiary Education, has urged the University of Education, Winneba, to concentrate on training teachers. She said looking at the task of human resource development that faced the nation and the central role of the teacher, the training of teachers at the university should remain a priority.

Ms Ohene said this at the 9th congregation of the University of Education Winneba at Winneba during which 2815 made up of 1,951 men and 864 women were awarded degrees and diplomas.

Twenty males and eight females, forming one percent of the total number of the graduates, had first upper while 320 male and 183 females forming 20 percent gained second class upper.

The minister said that the university would be anxious to grow and the government would give "you every support to do so, but I urged you to hasten slowly and for the moment keep your focus firmly on your core business".

"The time will probably come when UEW would mount courses in architecture and have a Medical School but please do not embark on such projects simply because they are fashionable", she said. Ms Ohene said that the government wanted to be able to boast about the quality of the universities and that their products have won an enviable reputable for the country worldwide.

''It is in this regard that anything that would seem to tarnish the credibility and integrity of the universities evoke such widespread and deep anxiety among the public,'' she said.

Ms Ohene said the government expected that the authorities of the universities "would deal with the current difficulties in a manner that would restore public confidence."

She said that the government is determined to reverse the catastrophic loss of confidence in the public school system as facilities are being upgraded and appealed to teachers to do their best. Prof Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, the Vice Chancellor, said since the beginning of last year the UEW has been experiencing an average shortfall of about 400 million cedis every month, making it difficult to pay staff.

He mentioned lack of sufficient accommodation, lecturers and lecture halls as some of the problems facing the university. Mr Jude Bucknor, the chairman of the University Council, appealed to the government to hasten its consultations with the Ghana Education Service on the return of the Ajumako buildings to the University for its language department to help reduce congestion at the Winneba campus.