Support Private Universities to Build Educated Society-Prof Hammond

By Claude Nyarko Adams

Professor Felix Nikoi Hammond, Chairman of the Governing Council the Dominion University College (DUC) has reiterated calls on the government to support private tertiary institutions in the country towards building an educated society.

Just as it is done for all great Universities across the world, he said there was the need for government to provide support to the private tertiary institutions due to their vital role in advancing government's education agenda.

He was speaking in Accra yesterday at the investiture and swearing-in of Baafuor Dr Ossei Hyeamann Brantuo VI, Otumfuo Manwerehene, as Honorary Chancellor of the College.

Dignitaries present at the event included the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Opare, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, statesmen, religious leaders, and renowned businessmen, among others.

He said despite its target of becoming world class centre for higher learning, the DUC was saddled with financial, human resource, organisational and infrastructural challenges.

As part of reforms to improve the DUC's relevance and expand its range of academic and professional and extracurricular programmes, Professor Hammond stated that the College would by end of this year introduce four new innovative PhD programmes in Statistics, Management, Clinical Psychology and Development Studies.

Additionally, Prof Hammond said a number of Executive Education, Corporate Training, Masters, Postgraduate Diploma and Certificate programme would also be launched within the same period.

He added that programmes were going through accreditation and affiliation approval process.

"These reforms are directed at expanding opportunities for hands-on experiential learning to make sure or students succeed in the ever changing world of work. We are now creating the Dominion identity, a unique set of performance and attitudinal traits that will mark our graduates out from the crowd in the world of work," he added.

For his part, Baafuor Dr Ossei Hyeamann Brantuo VI, said that he would focus on widening access to higher education for brilliant but needy students to help them unearth their talents and contribute positively to national development.

This, he said would be achieved through a strong and sustainable scholarship scheme with the support of the Dominion Endowment Fund.

As a means to deal with growing number of unemployed graduates in the country, the Otumfuo Manwerehene called for a change in focus in programmes to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, which were relevant to today's industries and societies.

Read Full Story