Pay structure should be based on creativity, productivity - Prof. Adei

Kumasi Feb 19, GNA - There is the need to link the country's pay structure to productivity, creativity and innovation instead of mere paper qualification and long service.

If workers are paid based on their contribution towards productivity rather than long service and paper qualifications, it would serve as a challenge to all workers to double their performance to earn more income.

These observations were made by Professor Stephen Adei, former Rector of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). He was launching the 5th Edition of the Trade and Technology Fair (TRATECH), organised by the Student Representative Council (SRC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi on Tuesday.

The five-day fair, under the theme: "Celebrating creativity and innovation through trade and technology in a peaceful Ghana", brought together works by students from the various Colleges, Faculties and Departments of the university. He said Ghana as a developing nation, needed a strategic national development vision and agenda with clear emphasis on science and technology for development.

Prof. Adei suggested that 80 per cent of government scholarships for students in tertiary institutions should be channelled into science and technology, creativity and innovation as well as entrepreneurship to help propel the nation's development agenda. He said that with the emergence of private universities which initially emphasised on business and computer science, public universities must be specifically resourced and directed to focus on science and technology.

Mr. Prosper Hoetu, President of Students' Representative Council (SRC) of KNUST, said the fair offered students the opportunity to apply their knowledge acquired in classroom to the building of more practical project and research work as well as enhancing their skills in creativity and innovation. He urged government to develop a programme for graduates to enable them to access credit from the banks with the support of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Manpower Youth and Employment to make them self employed.

Prof. William Ellis, Pro-Vice Chancellor of KNUST, commended the students for their dedication and commitment towards the fair. He said the University would continue to support innovations and creativity, to facilitate Ghana's development agenda. Prof. Ellis said since science and technology was the bedrock of every nation's development agenda, there was the need for more funds to be channelled to the sector to encourage research and creativity.