New University to Open Next March

The Government's call for private sector participation in the educational system as a means to boost the standard of education in the country has continued to yield more results, as the number of newly established private universities in the country is on the increase.

Among the most recent of these universities is the Ashesi University College, a four-year university that will grant bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Business Administration.

Ashesi, expected to commence March next year has been awarded institutional accreditation by the National Accreditation Board of Ghana and is based on a core liberal arts curriculum academic programme that would be equivalent in quality to some of the best universities in the United States, says Mr.

Patrick G Awuah Jr, founder Ashesi University Foundation.

Briefing newsmen at the college premises in Accra on Monday this week, Awuah said the school's mission is to train a new generation of ethical entrepreneurial leaders in Africa.

Awuah, a young Ghanaian, who holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Engineering stated that the vision of the university is to create a broad-based education that would train students to among others solve problems, think critically and communicate well.

However, even though Ashesi is set to offer some of the best inputs of academic minds in the United States including Swarthmore College, University of California at Berkeley and Washington University, its tuition/fees which stands at $ 5000.00 per year may likely be classified as a school for the elite Ghanaian.

But Awuah dismissed this assertion, and said the basis for the fees are based on investigations conducted during feasibility studies that revealed the willingness of many Ghanaians to pay costly for quality education.

Meanwhile, he indicated that the university foundation is in the process of raising funds to create a scholarship endowment to fully or partially cover tuition and fees for selected students.

Nana Apt, Professor, Social Science and Director, Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, for her part praised the President of the College and said the establishment of the university in the country is a step in the right direction to offer the quality of education that Ghanaians has long desired.

According to Prof Apt, who is also a member of the local advisory board of the college, the school is expected to take another look far from the nation's three traditional universities which are faced with numerous problems that inhabit its output.

However, when Chronicle pressed the USIA Regional Educational Advising Coordinator, Mrs. Nancy Keteku, who also serves on the school's local advisory board as to whether this may reduce the pressure on her outfit, she said even though her outfit does not engage in interfering with students' choices of schools this university will offer the chance for students to make a competitive decision and save a huge lot for most parents.