CJ calls on graduates to contribute to national development

Accra, Nov. 6, GNA - The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, on Saturday called on the 2,446 students who graduated from the University of Ghana (UG) to be adaptable, innovative and inventive to contribute towards national development.

She reminded the graduands, made up of 1,050 post graduates, 1,040 undergraduates and 356 diplomas that the marketplace required adaptability to succeed.

"No longer can one enter into employment in one particular occupation or role and hope to retire from the very same occupation or role," she said.

"These days, in the course of one's career, one often needs to change roles and retool for new roles."

The Chief Justice called on the graduands to add to the knowledge and skills acquired from the university, employable skills such as good communications skills, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) propensities and self-confidence.

"A recent research on the employment scene revealed that several employers look for graduates who make a difference," she said adding that obtaining an excellent class or grade was not enough.

Chief Justice Georgina Wood called on the University Authority to incorporate community work in the curriculum to establish a link between students and social realities.

She said: "These activities will make university education more society-friendly and enable tax payers to commit themselves even more readily to funding tertiary education. They will instil in students the spirit of sacrifice and servanthood which are critical to a successful career in public service."

Professor Ernest Aryeetey, Vice Chancellor of the University, said the undergraduate programmes had undergone extensive restructuring with the reintroduction of continuous assessment for all undergraduate courses in the Sciences and Humanities, reduction of class sizes and the ceding of duties of lecturers, graduates and teaching assistants under close supervision.

He said the age of admission for mature students had been lowered to 27 and from next academic year, that category of qualified students would be admitted to level 100.

Prof. Aryeetey said a new Bachelor's Degree programme in Public Health has been introduced with the aim to develop middle level public health practitioners who would work at the district level in the Ghana Health Service and its allied institutions.

He said the School of Research and Graduate Studies had been restructured with the unit responsible for co-ordinating graduate studies reverting to its original name 'School of Graduate Studies.

"The mandate of the school has been expanded to include promoting the development, diversification and effective delivery of post-graduate programme to address emerging national and global issues."

Prof Aryeetey said many graduate programmes had been revised to make them more market driven.

These include sandwich Master of Art programmes in e-Business and Marketing Strategy, Master of Philosophy and Doctoral programmes in Migration Studies.

He said the university council had approved of a sexual harassment policy to ensure that those who participated in university programmes did so in an environment free from intimidation, exploitation and abuse.

"The policy seeks to ensure that the University community is educated on what constitutes sexual harassment and sexual abuse, takes measures to avoid its occurrence and that appropriate action is taken against perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual abuse."

Prof. Aryeetey called on the graduands to take up careers in academia to impart knowledge to future generations. The ceremony saw students from the Faculties of Law, Engineering Sciences, Science, College of Agriculture, Business School and Graduate School who completed their programmes of study in the 2009 and 2010 academic year graduating. 6 Nov. 10