Tamale, March 9, GNA- The Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church is organizing fund raising activities within all its branches in the country to establish a university in the Volta Region by October, this year.

The Church has set for itself a 50 billion-cedis target for the project and its Northern regional branch is expected to raise 500 million cedis towards the establishment of the university.

Mr George Debrie, Assistant Registrar of the University for Development Studies (UDS) who is the chairman of the fund-raising committee, announced this at the launch of the programme in Tamale on Sunday.

Mr Debrie said the E.P. Church has been a pioneer in the establishment of schools in the country, dating back in 1840, adding that the Church now has 30 basic schools, five Senior Secondary Schools, two teacher training colleges and four vocational training institutions in the country.

He said about 60 per cent of students who qualify for admission into the universities fail to gain admission because of the lack of accommodation.

It was for this reason that the Church decided to establish the university to make tertiary education accessible to as many students as possible, he said.

In a speech read for him, Mr Ernest Debrah, Northern Regional Minister commended the church for its good work not only in the field of education but also in health and agriculture.

He noted the role the church played in the re-opening of all its basic schools and employing pupil teachers to man them, as well as helping to heal wounds in the aftermath of the 1994 Northern conflict. He said it was significant to note that recent results of the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSSCE) showed that "Mission Schools" excelled and attributed the performance to the high level of discipline in those institutions.

The Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly donated two million cedis and one million cedis respectively towards the project. 9 March 09