Accra, Oct. 4, GNA - Ghanaians have been urged to desist from trooping into the University of Ghana during the admission period to ask for favours for their children and wards. Professor Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said the misconception among the public that one needed to know or see an official of the University to be able to secure admission should seize forthwith. "I would like to re-iterate that admission to the University of Ghana is based on one's grades in comparison with the cohort of students of that year," he said.

Prof. Asenso-Okyere was speaking at this year's matriculation ceremony at which 7,101 students admitted to the University to pursue various degree and diploma programmes took their oath of allegiance to higher authority and the pursuit of academic excellence. A little over ten thousand out of 14,338 qualified applicants were offered admission, with only 7,101 registering for their programmes.

Prof. Asenso-Okyere said the admission process every year brings to the fore the need for the country to brainstorm on how to make tertiary education accessible. He cautioned students who come into the University with falsified results that they would be dismissed immediately. "We are going to be circumspect about the change of names and may ban it completely (except for women who get married and adopt their husbands family name as a way of stemming out the practice." He said, since the University did not have enough facilities to admit all qualified applicants, there was the need for students, parents and sponsors to seek alternative avenues for further studies and career development.

It is in this direction, the Vice-Chancellor said, that the University is to establish a Centre for Distance Education as a means to make University education accessible. Some of the programmes will be run in conjunction with other universities outside Ghana. He said quality education was necessary for national development and the universities had a prime role to play in providing the critically needed human resources in a knowledge-based economy. However, quality higher education, Prof. Asenso-Okyere said, needed to be paid for and appealed to students to realise its importance and desist from opposing any increase in fees. He expressed the hope that the students would help the University authorities by raising the current levels of fees, which he said, were grossly inadequate to be able to promote quality.

Currently, students pay an academic user fee of about 500,000 for humanities, less than 800,000 for Science and One Million cedis for medical and dental students. "We admit that there are cases of abject poverty and these people must be assisted if they can be identified." On the accommodation problem facing the University, Prof Asenso-Okyere said arrangements were advanced for the construction of the remaining three phases of the Jubilee Hall to provide accommodation for additional 2000 students as well as expand the International Students Hostel and the Graduate Students Hostel. The University is also working out the modalities with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust for the provision of additional accommodation for 3,000 students. He appealed to all stakeholders to help the University to improve and add to the lecture halls, laboratory space to ensure significant increase in students' admissions.

Professor Asenso-Okyere advised the students to take their studies seriously as they may be sacked or asked to withdraw from the University when they failed their courses. He cautioned students against indiscipline and warned that any students caught or identified to have infringed upon any hall or University regulation would be severely sanctioned. "We expect exceptionally good behaviour from the future leaders of the country."

The Chairman of the University Council, Dr Ishmael Yamson, urged the matriculants to show fortitude in the face of the numerous difficulties they face on campus.