Agogo (Ash), May 22, GNA - The Presbyterian University College (PUC) has introduced new programmes that would respond to demands of the job market thereby making its products more competitive. The programmes, which cover areas such as Environment and Natural Resource Management, Business, Economics and Development Studies has been designed to provide students with competitive advantage over their counterparts in other Universities.

Professor Sraku Lartey, Principal of the College who told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Agogo on Wednesday, said the move was among other initiatives to position the College to attract more students to be trained with the requisite manpower that would meet the demands of industries and companies. For instance, he said the Environment and Natural Resource Management course, placed emphasis on both environmental issues and natural resource management, instead of only one of them as was the case in other Universities.

Mr Lartey said the programme would deepen the understanding of the character of the environment and its inherent natural resources as they relate to human livelihood and survival.

"It explores the ways the environment and the resources are used in this quest. It also combines theory and practice and place a refreshing emphasis upon bottom up participatory methodologies and upon lesson from local resource management practices", the Principal added. Professor Lartey said it would enable graduates to be positioned to analyze, plan and positively influence management of the environment and natural resources in very practical ways and in a wide range of institutions and establishments.

On the Business Economics Programme, the Principal said: "What makes it unique is that, in addition to the traditional economics, the programme also focuses on major subject areas of Business Administration including entrepreneurship and accounting." He stated that the programme would equip the students in three major subjects essential to the world of business, adding that, a graduate with such rich background would be preferred to the one with knowledge in only one of the subjects. Touching on the Development Studies Programme, Professor Latey further said, there was the urgent need to address the myriad problems confronting third world economics such as poverty, gender inequalities, land use, conflicts and political instability. To achieve this, the Principal said it was imperative to get a better understanding of courses and processes of the developmental challenges, saying that was what the Development Studies programme sought to achieve. The College has campuses located at Abetifi-Kwaku, Akropong-Akuapem and Agogo-Asante Akyem,