The President of the Islamic University College, Dr Mohsen Maarefi, has urged developing countries to prioritise investment in the human resource development by offering holistic education to poor and needy communities.

He said when the poor and needy are empowered through education, they are able to develop skills that free them from poverty.

Dr. Maarefi said this at the 13th graduation and matriculation of the IUCG on Saturday in Accra on the theme, ‘Making university education accessible to all: the role of IUCG, the government and civil society.’

Poverty he said was a capability deprivation which could be broken through education and making sure that it was accessible to all.

“The more investment there is in human resource, the more efficiency, innovation,progress and wealth creation there will be for the people concerned and the country at large,” he said.

According to Dr. Maarefi, the university in an effort to support the needy charges the lowest fees by any private university, adding that when it was established every student was on scholarships but due to high cost of running a university they started charging low fees with flexible payment terms in addition to other scholarship schemes.

He commended the government on the free Senior High School policy and urged it to ensure that the policy was conceptualised with the social end in mind to make the implementation very smooth.

The Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid, on behalf of the Vice President Dr. Mahmond Bawumia commended the university for offering excellent service to the people and reiterated government’s commitment to support any institution that targets poverty eradication.

“The university needed to be commended for the great job it is doing in not only offering quality education to society but also instilling good ethics and moral values in the people aimed at eliminating corruption and other vices,” he said.

Mr Hamid urged the students and potential ones to take advantage of the moral training the university was offering in order to make a difference in society.

He charged students not to despair when offered certain courses against their wish, adding that “what one reads does not matter but the steel, character, integrity and the knowledge imbedded in the individual after programme is what matters”.

The chairman of the university council, Dr. Abdul Majeed Hakim Elahi, urged the graduands to be mindful of the university motto, and not serve themselves but their community and humanity.

“Let the IUCG motto guide you, and with a good dose of humanity, self-confidence and hard work you will live a happy and fulfilled life,” he added.