General News of Monday, 28 October 2019

Source: gbconline.com

Bill to check affiliation and institutional mentorship among universities before parliament

Library photo of Prof. Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education. Library photo of Prof. Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education.

A Tertiary Education Regulators Bill has been laid before Parliament to make affiliation and institutional mentorship among universities a thing of the past. It will also bring relief to private universities.

The bill, when passed into law, will also eliminate policies discriminating against private universities.

The Minister in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah revealed this at the 18th Congregation and 28th Matriculation of the Catholic University College of Ghana, at Fiapre in the Bono Region.

It was a historic day as the Catholic University College- CUC-Ghana turned out its first 16 Master of Public Health Graduates. Others who also graduated include five Bachelor of Science in Nursing students along with 550 undergraduates. 540 students were also matriculated.

Addressing the graduands, the Vice-Chancellor of CUC-Ghana, Prof. Daniel Obeng Ofori said organizational restructuring of CUC-G is one of the key strategies in the revitalization, rebranding and repositioning of the college. In that direction, he said Council members of the school have approved a proposal for the establishment of a Business Development and Resource Mobilization Office.

Professor Obeng Ofori indicated that 16 years as an affiliate institution of the University of Ghana and University of Cape Coast, the CUC-G is ready for a Presidential Charter.

He also said the institution has introduced some programmes which are undergoing affiliation and accreditation processes.

It was also revealed that the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference in 2018 launched a 200 million cedis Endowment Fund, with about 70 percent of the fund expected to be contributed by the Catholic Church through levies.

The Vice-Chancellor, therefore, appealed to all stakeholders to support by contributing to the fund.

The Minster in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah said, government needs the private sector to help mitigate the burden of education and its cost.

He said government is in a hurry to transform the fortunes of the country through education, adding that the Ministry of Education is liaising with the National Council for Tertiary Education to spell out the implications of the new policy for admissions to universities and other relevant institutions.

Professor Yankah revealed that a bill has been laid before Parliament and when passed into law, it will eliminate policy discriminating against private universities.