Kumasi, Feb. 20, GNA - Professor Stephen Adei, former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) has stressed the need for the nation's pay structure to be linked to productivity, creativity and innovation, rather than on paper qualification and long service.

This, he said, would serve as a big challenge to all workers to double their performance at the work place to earn more income. Prof. Adei was launching the fifth edition of the Trade and Technology Fair (TRATECH), organised by the Student Representative Council (SRC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in Kumasi, on Tuesday.

The five-day fair, which had the theme: "Celebrating Creativity and Innovation through Trade and Technology in a Peaceful Ghana," brought together works by students from the various Colleges, Faculties and Departments of the University. He said as a developing nation, there was the need for a strategic national development vision and agenda, with clear emphasis on Science and Technology for development.

The former Rector indicated that, 80 per cent of government scholarships for students in tertiary institutions should be channelled into Science and Technology, Creativity and Innovation, as well as Entrepreneurship, to help propel the nation's development agenda. Prof. Adei mentioned that with the emergence of private universities, which mainly emphasise Business and Computer Science, public universities must be policy directed and specifically resourced to also focus on Science and Technology.

Mr Prosper Hoetu, SRC President of KNUST, said the fair offered students the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge acquired in class, to the building of more practical projects and research work, as well as enhancing their creativity and innovation.

He called on the government to develop a programme where graduates' projects and business plans could be used to access credit from the banks with the support of the Ministries of Trade and Industry, and Manpower, Youth and Employment, to make them self employed. Prof. William Ellis, Pro-Vice Chancellor of KNUST, who chaired the function, commended the students for their dedication and commitment towards the fair, and said the university would continue to support innovations and creativity, which could expedite the nation's development agenda.

He mentioned that since science and technology was the bedrock of every nation's development agenda, there was the need for more funds to be channelled to the sector to encourage research and creativity.