Oyibi (GAR), March 3, GNA - A total of 794 students made up of 479 m= en and 315 women have enrolled to pursue various postgraduate programmes at th= e Valley View University (VVU) in the 2010/2011 academic year The courses are Business Administration, Nursing, Theology, Developmen= t Studies, Religious Studies, Education, Information Technology and Computer Science.

Professor Daniel Bour, Vice Chancellor, VVU, announced this during the University's 16th Matriculation at Oyibi in the Greater Accra Region on Thursday.

He said the University had begun a process of expanding its programmes to include basic sciences, mathematical sciences and some programmes in the arts and social sciences within the next four years. The social sciences would include Economics, Geography, Sociology, Social Work, Languages, Modern History, Library and Archival Studies and Communication Studies.

"The introduction of the basic sciences, arts and social sciences sh= all serve as the precursors to the introduction of applied arts and sciences after the four years of preparation," he added. Prof. Bour said in addition, the University was in the process of preparing curricula for the introduction of Health Education, Health Planning and Administration programmes at the postgraduate level. He said the University had put in place measures to ensure that it onl= y introduced cutting-edge courses which guaranteed easy access to the job market, and arrangements were far advanced to access loan facility from VVU bankers to put up hostels, lecture complexes, a state-of=96the-art library and an IT Centre.

According to Prof. Bour, the General Conference of Seventh=96Day Adventist Church had given the University 250,000 dollars towards the construction of a church building estimated at 800,000 dollars. He urged the students to concentrate on their studies and avoid irrelevant activities so that they could obtain good grades that could guarantee them access to jobs after graduation. Professor Peter Donkor, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), appealed to the new students to abide by the rules governing the university to avoid confrontation with the authorities. He commended VVU for expanding the opportunities for tertiary educatio= n and filling a niche in the nation's development effort.