Bolgatanga (UE), Jan. 8, GNA - The University for Development Studies (UDS), is seriously grappling with infrastructure problems, which is hampering the academic progress of students in the School, the Upper East Chapter President of UDS Alumni, Mr Mike Zuri has stated. Mr Zuri said this during the Alumni Dinner Dance, held at the Bolgatanga Catering Rest House, on Tuesday.

He said 93in this 21st century and computer age, the Students of the School used slabs to write their semester examination, which he noted, did not enhance academic work. He said students of the school have resolved to boycott the next semester examinations, if the authorise do not change the slabs, and also cautioned them to address the challenges, to avoid any unfortunate incident= .. He advised the management of the UDS to refrain from admitting more than the required number of students that the University can accommodate, t= o avoid the problems students encounter in the school.

The National President of the UDS Alumni, Mr Felix Abagale, in his address called on President Mills to honour the promise of the GHC2 million he promised to give to each public university annually. "Whilst other Universities like the University of Ghana and the Kwam= e Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, among others, had received tw= o tranche, whilst the UDS, which is a deprived school, had not yet had its share" He therefore appealed to President Mills and his government to give special attention to UDS, which is the only University of the North. He said through the alumni's negotiations and efforts, a new course, "Peace Studies" would be introduced this year, as part of the disciplin= es of the School.

"Through the alumni's efforts, the fees for PHD and Masters progra= mmes have also been reduced from GHC10,000 and GHC5,000 to GHC7,000 and GHC3,000 respectively" The Pro-Vice Chancellor of UDS, Professor David Millar commended the alumni for contributing in diverse ways to the running of the administratio= n of the University and urged them to do more, since it is a major stakeholder. He said government was contributing a lot to the Infrastructure development of UDS and mentioned GETFUND projects initiated by government. He said some of the projects had been completed whilst others were ongoing, and that, the UDS Medical Lecture Hall, which have just been completed, as an example.

Prof Millar noted that the UDS is the largest institution in Africa, pursuing Masters and PHD Programmes, saying that, currently, 24 students were pursuing PHD in Endogenous Development, a new programme run by only UD= S in the country. He said most of the universities do not often have more students as UDS for its PHD Programmes, and that the UDS also stood unique in the training of students, which is clearly demonstrated by the demand for UDS students o= n the job market