Confab for Deans of Universities in Africa Ends in Kumasi

Kumasi, Oct. 4, GNA - A day's conference aimed at building the capacity and sharpening the managerial skills of deans of some universities across Africa has ended in Kumasi.

Participants were drawn from Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia and the Gambia. The conference was organized under the auspices of Deutcher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, a German non-governmental organisation ( NGO) and was held on the theme," The Changing Nature of Higher Education Management; the challenges."

Professor Abebe Dinku, a senior advisor to the President of Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, said it was high time universities on the continent evolved pragmatic strategies and programmes aimed at adequately resourcing these institutions to live up to expectation. "We should aim at devising new tactics and curricular to facilitate the turning out of high calibre graduates with the requisite knowledge and expertise to support the industrial and socio-economic development of Africa." Professor Dinku called for sustainable funding of research and other academic pursuit by African governments to help address critical issues that boarded on good governance and effective management of universities as well as state resources.

Professor Dr. Peter Mayer, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences at Osnabruck in Germany, said it behoved African Universities to embark on joint and exchange programmes to share ideas to enable these institutions strive for excellence.

Professor William Ellis, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), advised corporate bodies to collaborate with the university to institute viable programmes to train students who could fit well into the job market after their graduation.