Include volunteerism in tertiary education curriculum -Dr. Agyekum Addo

Founder of KAMA Group of Companies, Nana Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo, has called for the inclusion of volunteerism in the curriculum of tertiary institutions.

This, he explained, will whip up the spirit of volunteerism in graduates for holistic development. It will also equip them with practical industry experience to better their curriculum vitae (CV) and instill patriotism in young people to offer their maximum best towards the development of the country.

He underscored volunteerism as a sacrifice core to the progress of every individual who is committed to attaining great heights in life. “Volunteerism, as required of young people, stimulates knowledge, skills and above all, culminates in success and must not be overlooked”.

He made these remarks at the 14th congregation of the Data Link Institute of Business and Technology in Tema, held under the theme: “Positioning Tertiary Institutions in the Emerging Economies for Entrepreneurship and Wealth Creation”.

The renowned entrepreneur and Elections Committee Member of the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), stressed that the spirit of volunteerism must be underpinned by an entrepreneurial mindset.

He urged the graduates to be open-minded and seize any business opportunity they find within their immediate environment.

“Do not feel shy of any business venture including our traditional businesses such as beads making which I can tell you remains lucrative. Do not think that it does not befit your status as a tertiary graduate, start it now, commit to growing and expanding it and you will become a renowned entrepreneur like myself,” he added.

Dr. Addo cited how Ghana unfortunately fell off the industrial revolution drive which the first president commenced in the early sixties to be at par with the rest of the world which successive regimes could not sustain.

“Dr Kwame Nkrumah pulled Ghana along the industrial revolution drive in the 20th century where Ghana was producing Sanyo radio set, assembling cars, had Black Star Line and a host of factories but we fell off because of successive governments’ misgovernance leaving Ghana as a third world country today,” he lamented.

President of the Data Link Institute of Business and Technology, Prof. Stanley Moffatt, lauded the current process which mandates private tertiary institutions to align with public universities to ensure quality delivery.

However, the process according to him puts private universities in financial servitude and unimaginable gains to the mentor universities due to the myriads of fees they pay to their mentor universities. He therefore called for streamlining the affiliation and accreditation processes to ease the financial burden on private universities.

A computer Science student, Joshua Ngmertey, came as the best male student whilst Deborah Mawume-Ablordey, was adjudged the best female and overall best student.

Mrs. Ablordey, in her valedictory speech, considers their graduation as a call to duty towards Ghana and beyond, urging colleagues not to bury their talents, knowledge, and skills, but to make optimum use of them to effect the expected change.

The graduating class consisted of students with Masters and Bachelor Degrees, as well as Advance Diplomas in Business Administration, Computer Science and Information Systems, Human Resource (HR) Management, and Information Communication Technology.

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