Professor Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi, Director of Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE)- University of Ghana, has appealed to the school’s authorities to boost its capacities to enable the Institute to deliver ICT-Based Distance Education.

Professor Oheneba-Sakyi, said this at the first congregation ceremony for distance education programme at the University of Ghana’s Institute of Continuing and Distance Education in Accra.

He said greater opportunities would be opened for post-graduate E-Learning programmes, via online and other technology-mediated learning for the school’s educational entrepreneurs for lifelong learning.

“I expect the Institute to take the lead role in designing online learning experiences at the University to centre on learners’ unique needs in order to balance their coursework with their professional and personal commitments,” he added.

Prof Oheneba-Sakyi said, online learning would provide the skills that adult learners needed to grow as professionals and acquire credentials that would make positive change by finding creative and innovative solutions to challenges facing industry as well as the greater community.

Mr. Lee Ocran, the Minister of Education, said unemployment and underemployment continued to be challenges that faced both developed and developing economies, as well as the public sector not being able to absorb the large number of graduates produced each year.

He appealed to graduates to be creative and remain steadfast in their pursuit of their goals.

Mr. Ocran said the government had formulated a well-structured exit plan for all beneficiaries of the programme and had introduced new modules which would benefit the graduates

He said the government had introduced Local Enterprises and Skills Development (LESDEP), a private initiative with government support, to train in trade sectors.

He appealed to the graduates to take more risk, conscious of their environment and be torchbearers of peace in the upcoming general elections.

Some 635 students graduated with 51 having first class honours, 184 having second class honours in the upper division and 363 with second class honours in the lower class division.

Thirty-six had third class honours and one student had a pass.**