General News of Tuesday, 27 March 2007

Source: GNA

University education should gear towards self-employment

Kumasi, March 27, GNA - Professor Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, Vice Chancellor of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), last weekend said tertiary education should be geared towards self-employment.

He said entrepreneurship training should therefore, be included in the curriculum of departments of the university to enhance training and acquisition of skills towards self-employment.

Professor Adarkwa made the call at the Third Heidelberg/Publishing Studies Awards Day and Entrepreneurship graduation for 101 final-year students of the Publishing Department of KNUST in Kumasi. He appealed to academia and industrialists to team up to establish entrepreneurship training in all departments of the university. The Vice Chancellor commended the Publishing Studies Department for initiating the entrepreneurship training course and was optimistic students would develop interest and learn the subject. Mr Isaac Kofi Appiah, Head of the Department, announced that plans were far advanced for some of the students to visit and interact with exhibitors at the London Book Fair in April this year to expose them to the industry.

He commended the management of Heidelberg Ghana Limited for presenting audio-visual print media reference materials valued at about 20 million cedis to the department and sponsoring the graduation. Mr Appiah appealed to stakeholders in the industry to assist the department to acquire means of transport to assist them supervise students on industrial attachment.

Mr Jacob Nielson Koldinh, Managing Director of Heidelberg Ghana Limited, expressed appreciation for the performance of graduates from the department working in the country. He pledged support for the development of manpower needs of the industry and appealed to financial institutions to invest in the industry.