Greener pastures do no longer exist - graduates told

Cape Coast, April 30, GNA - Mrs Asafo Adjei, a lecturer at the Goethe Institute, on Friday reiterated calls on students of the country's tertiary institutions to endeavour to stay in the country after completing their courses to contribute to the nation's development.

She explained that travelling outside the country in search of greener pastures may prove futile, as the developed countries are now increasingly, having a great number of their own citizens unemployed. Mrs Adjei gave the advice at a day's seminar and launch of the Cape Coast Polytechnic branch of the Ghana- German Inter-Cultural Students' Association, on Friday.

The occasion, which was organized by the Ghana-German Inter-Cultural Students' Association (GGICSA), and sponsored by the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), was on the theme "Advancing the Cultural Economy, the Role of the Polytechnic Student".

She assured the students that the nation's economy was picking up at a "marvellous rate", and that their needs could be easily met in the country, rather than outside, where there are risks and problems. Mr Reginald Crabbe, co-ordinating director of the GGISA, said the association aims at harmonizing the different cultures of Ghana and Germany, and was pursuing four areas of cultural exchanges, namely, education, language, music and sports.

He urged the students to register with the association, in order to benefit from the programmes.

Mr Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr, a student activist, called on his colleagues to shun all negative cultural practices, which militate against the effective development of the country. He also asked them to seek redress to their grievances through the appropriate channels, and not create unnecessary tension, through strikes and demonstrations.

Mr Bomfeh stressed the need for polytechnic students to play a leading role in the advancement of the nation's economy development by fully embracing the Ghanaian cultural values. He underscored the importance of a national language, and said it was time the nation adopted a common language to promote its socio-economic and cultural development. Mrs Ama Oppong-Duah, technical assistant to the director of GTZ, said her organisation, has for the past 25 years, been supporting developing countries and 2,700 projects worldwide. She said some of such projects in the country, are the waste management project at Bantama in Kumasi, tomato processing pilot project at Wenchi, and a training programme in information and medical equipment technologies, for students of KNUST.