Bolgatanga, Feb. 01, GNA - The Alumni of the University for Developm= ent Studies (UDS) at the weekend reminded the National Democratic Congress (N= DC) Government to fulfill its promise of developing the Institution. The Alumni said the 2008 manifesto of the NDC promised making specia= l allocations from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) to accelerate t= he development of the University.

The National President of the UDS Alumni, Mr Felix Kofi Abagale sent the reminder during the inauguration of the Upper East chapter of the UDS Alumni in Bolgatanga. He stated that it was a known fact that UDS' practical and problem solving activities was producing great leaders for the country, yet the condition under which students live and study was nothing to write home about. "We the Alumni of UDS therefore wish to make a passionate appeal to the NDC Government to embark on vigorous infrastructural development in the School and also provide adequate resources for the growth of the Universi= ty" He called on the President of the Republic to visit the UDS Campuses= to appreciate the problems in the School.

Mr Abagale stated that since the inception of the Association it had contributed a lot to the development of the university and said the Alumn= i was deeply involved in the resolution of the Wa campus impasse, which led= to its closure briefly. It had also established and organized the association's chapters in all the Regions of the Country, created a website, developed a data base for members of the Association and assisted members, who were in search of jo= bs through networking among others. He appealed to the new executive of the Upper East Chapter to work closely with the Alumni members to enable them to contribute to the development and growth of the Association and UDS as a whole. The Upper East Chapter executive members are Mr Michael Zuri, President, Mr Emmanuel Tia Nabila, Vice President, Mr Raphael Alobase, Secretary, Ms Bertha Sandow, Treasurer, Mr Michael Abongo, Organizing Secretary, and Mr David Nagbila, Assistant Organizing Secretary. Mr Zuri thanked members of the association on behalf of the Executiv= e for the confidence reposed in them and pledged to work hard to lift the image of the association. He said the Alumni would embark on an aggressive membership drive, secure office accommodation for the alumni secretariat, develop income generation activities, promote carrier and counseling in selected Senior and Junior High Schools and to collaborate with Government, NGO'S and Civil Society Organizations to promote peace building and conflict resolution i= n the Region.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who inaugurated t= he UDS Alumni Chapter of the Upper East Region, assured the Alumni that Government would fulfill its promise of providing adequate infrastructure for the UDS.

He said the process had already begun with Government upgrading the Tamale Regional Hospital into a fully-fledged Teaching Hospital to ensure that the School of Medicine and Allied Health Science programme was fully implemented.

He said special allocation of Funds from the GETFUND would be made available to accelerate the development of the UDS. He appealed to the Alumni to play its role by collaborating with Government and other stakeholders to bring peace in the conflict prone ar= eas in the three northern regions particularly Bawku and help address the falling standard of education in the Region, as well as providing educational materials to schools.