The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) has launched two funds to help promote academic excellence.

The funds are the UEW Research, Innovation and Staff Development Fund and the UEW Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship Fund for Brilliant but Needy Students.

Professor Mohammed Salifu, the Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), assisted by Professor Mawutor Avoke, the Vice-Chancellor of UEW, launched the funds.

Mr Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa, the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary, said in a speech read for him that the national budget constraints had limited the ability of the Government to adequately fund university education in its entirety.

“It is always a welcomed intervention when universities take ground breaking initiatives and proactive steps like what the UEW has taken to complement what is done at the national level,” he said.

Mr Ablakwa suggested that while thinking research and innovation in relation to academic staff, it was important that university authorities thought about how students could be encouraged to imbibe the spirit of research and invocation as well.

“There is far too much waste of energy and talent by students on our campuses on numerous extra curricula activities and prayer meetings,” he said.

Mr Ablakwa, therefore, challenged the university to re-channel and harness these energies into more productive scientific activities that would build a generation of inventors and problem solvers.

Mr George Kweku Rickette-Hagan, the Central Regional Minister, who was the guest of honour, said several research and project works undertaken in the past were uncompleted due to lack of funding or inadequate funding support.

He, therefore, commended the authorities of UEW for their bold step and called on stakeholders in education to contribute to the funds.

The first Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, who chaired the programme, appealed to philanthropists and corporate bodies to donate to the funds to enable them to achieve the aims and objectives.