A private university in the Upper East region that encourages its graduates to submit business proposals for sponsorship to create their own jobs is in tears as a bridge and several culverts on an ECOWAS road leading to the campus are about to fall to pieces.

Maiden admissions began at the young university, the Regentropfen College of Applied Sciences (ReCAS), in 2016, the year some natives of the Bongo District, where the school is located, staged a demonstration over the terrible state of that road.

Despite claims by the demonstrators that lives were being lost on that busy 26-kilometre stretch as a result of its condition, and in spite of open threats to block it until government worked on it, nothing changed.

The party in power at the time strongly downplayed that demonstration, saying the agitators were foot soldiers of an opposition party deployed to make the government unpopular.

At present, the underside of one of the bridges has become so eroded the giant holes under it qualify to be rated as principal caves. The entire road itself looks too thin to survive a total washout in the nearing rainy season.

Any rally on the same matter today might once again lead nowhere as supporters of the ruling party are most likely to also grab their turn to talk it down as politically motivated.

One of the harmful effects of the endless-seeming delay in reconstructing that international road, possibly linked to the underlying political ballgame, is not just the threats the neglected ‘vanishing’ road is posing to its users without regard to the political parties they belong. It is also inflicting crippling aches on both the university’s staff and the student body.

“If government can do something about it for us, we would be very happy. Most students complain about the access road. And it’s very bad when it rains. The bridges are broken down and the rainy season is just on the way. We are pleading with government to sort us out,” the Registrar in charge of Academics and Research, Frank Appiah Larbi, said at a matriculation ceremony held at the school Saturday.

Create your own Jobs— UDS’s Pro Vice-Chancellor tells Fresh Students

ReCAS is affiliated to the University for Development Studies (UDS) whose authorities say they are proud of the partnership because the two institutions are guided by mottos that have one thing in common— producing economically viable graduates.

“UDS, our motto is ‘Knowledge for Service’. ReCAS has also come up with a motto: ‘Promoting Talents’. You can see the nearness and similarity between the two. What they do here, blending theory with academic work, falls within the mandate of the UDS. We are proud of the partnership between us and I must say the UDS is poised to mentor this institution into an enviable establishment it is meant to be,” stated the UDS’s Pro-vice-chancellor, Professor Seidu Al-hassan, at the matriculation ceremony.

He charged the fresh students: “We want you to leave this place after your education to become citizens who will help to create jobs and not citizens who will be going around looking for jobs. Learn to become job creators and not job seekers. Study diligently and respect school authorities. If you do these, you will get there.”

UDS hails ReCAS’s job sponsorship for graduates; begs others to do same

The Pro-vice-chancellor told newsmen moments after the students had been matriculated that graduates needed not wait until there was money before they could create a job. He said they needed a business idea, the will power, commitment and networking to become job creators.

Whilst encouraging the lecturers to put in their best efforts in helping the students to become the best they could be in their chosen fields, Professor Al-hassan also entreated other institutions to adopt the job-creation sponsorship package ReCAS was providing for its graduates.

“This [university] is in a perfect direction because here you train the person to go and create the job and you provide [financial] support. I have never seen that [before].

“This is very good. It is complementary. You give the person the knowledge, you give the person the innovativeness and you provide financial support to the person. This is so beautiful. And I think that other institutions should emulate this,” remarked Professor Al-hassan.

Why the Varsity sponsors Graduates

The university, according to the Assistant Registrar in charge of Business Development and Industrial Relations, Isaac Azure, is providing the self-employment sponsorship package for graduates because it believes “university tuition is not enough”.

The school has a Business and Career Development Centre created to help orientate and train students towards becoming entrepreneurs. It invites business proposals from them when they graduate and gives them startup capitals.

“We are doing this to encourage the students to start thinking of how to start up their own businesses whilst they are in school. We are doing this to make them understand that there are no ready jobs outside there. So, as a student of ReCAS, before you complete you should be able to come up with your own business and rather employ people.

“Apart from this, we have what we call the Entrepreneurship Forum, which is organised by the same centre every Wednesday, where students meet to brainstorm as to how to solve simple business problems that impact lives. And at the Office of the President, we also have the Scholarship Directorate that offers support to the less privileged in society, especially those who are students at ReCAS,” explained Mr. Azure who doubles as Assistant Registrar in the Office of the President.

With ReCAS said to be one of the 15 universities in Ghana that constitute the African-German Entrepreneurship Academy (AGEA), the President of the university, Rev. Dr. Moses Asaah Awinongya, told the fresh students in an address delivered on his behalf by Mr. Azure at the matriculation ceremony they belonged to “a big family”.

“ReCAS looks forward to expanding its study programmes in the very near future. We have sent a letter to [the] UDS to that effect. We are glad you chose to develop your future in and with ReCAS. You won’t regret it. You belong to a big family, the membership of which goes beyond the borders of this country. Welcome to the Family of Pacesetters. Welcome to the family that promotes talents,” the President said.