Fast track modalities for amending GETFUND Law

Accra, March 20, GNA - The President of Advanced Business College, Mr Ebenezer K. Ampiah, has appealed to the Government to hurry modalities for amending the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Law to extend its full benefits to private universities. "The GETFund has had tremendous impact on education financing, from the basic to tertiary institutions in the country," he said. "Extending it to the private tertiary institutions is one of the surest ways of bringing equity in the distribution of the national cake."

"This is because all of us, including parents and guardians of students of private tertiary institutions, contribute to the GETFUND by way of payment of taxes," Mr Ampiah stated at the Fifth Matriculation ceremony of the Advanced Business College in Accra. The GETFUND was set up to provide financial support to the agencies and institutions under the Ministry of Education, through the Ministry, for the development and maintenance of essential academic facilities and infrastructure in public educational institutions, particularly, in tertiary institutions.

Mr Ampiah said the private tertiary institutions were ready to provide input for the drafting stage and to dialogue with the appropriate state agencies and the Ministry of Education for the ironing out of modalities for the amendment.

He noted that private tertiary educational institutions were contributing tremendously to bringing higher education to the individual through creating more opportunities for the training and education.

Professor Mawotor Avoke, Pro-Vice Chancellor of University of Education, Winneba, who administered the Matriculation Oath, advised the students to be guided by the rules and regulations of the college and to uphold its good name.

The Pro-Vice Chancellor advised the martriculants to avoid indulging in vices that would put them into trouble and challenged the college authorities to sanction those who flout regulations. He also advised the students to attend lectures regularly and finish their assignments on time so that they could develop their skills and measure their progress of study.

They should also follow laid down channels of communication in resolving differences and misunderstandings that may arise between them others. In all, 124 students from Ghana and other six African countries were offered admission into various programmes of study, including Bachelor of Science 96 Management Studies; Bachelor of Science 96 Graphics Design; London Centre of Marketing 96 Diploma; and Higher National Diploma at the College for the 2011/2012 academic year were matriculated.