The phase two of the Senior Academic Leadership Training (SALT) programme for Private Universities’ Council Members ended in Accra on Friday.

The two day workshop organized by the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) and funded by the Carnegie Corporation in New York was attended by about 40 delegates from the private universities.

The key objectives of the workshop were to equip the Council Members with the tools and skills to enable them better understand and interpret institutional accounts and audits.

It was also to train the Council Members in terms of their legal, administrative, oversight, fiduciary, strategic and generative roles and responsibilities; and to take Council Members through a self-review exercise to enable them to evaluate their performance.

Professor S. N. Woode, former Chairman of the Public Services Commission who chaired the workshop underscored the importance of the training and was hopeful that it would help equip delegates to better perform their roles.

Prof. C. N. B. Tagoe, NCTE Chairman said although the NCTE instituted a programme to train members of Councils of tertiary education institutions in Ghana in the early 2000s, this was limited to a few public universities at the time.

He said the expansion of the tertiary education sector to include several other players made it necessary to extend this training to members of Councils of other tertiary education institutions.

“It was therefore refreshing to note that today’s workshop is focusing on the training of private tertiary institutions,” he said.

Prof. Tagoe urged the delegates to actively participate in all sessions of the workshop.

Dr. Paul Effah, the Project Director of the SALT programme and former Executive Secretary of the NCTE, in a presentation said, “Effective governance is vital for the good health of a university and for protecting institutional autonomy and independence’’.

He added that it was important to nurture and develop a culture of council that promotes institutional health such as would make council members look forward to attending council meetings well prepared.

The participants were taken through topics such as Effective University Governance; Criteria for the Appointment of Council Members; and Financial and Budgetary Responsibilities of Council among others.

It is expected that by the end of the Senior Academic Leadership Training (SALT), Phase 2 programme on December 31, 2016, about 300 University Council Members and 210 Heads of Department from both public and private universities will be trained and oriented on their roles and responsibilities.

The NCTE was established by NCTE Act 1993, (Act 454) to oversee the proper administration of institutions designated as institutions of tertiary education in Ghana and to advise the Minister of Education on the development of the institutions.

The NCTE is committed to providing leadership in tertiary education by advising government and all relevant institutions to enhance access, quality, equity, relevance and governance.