Ghana launches fourth higher education fair

Accra, Jan. 25, GNA - Mrs Catherine Haizel, Chief Executive

Officer of I- TEXON Ghana, a management solution firm on

Tuesday called on parents and guardians to be more concerned

about the quality of education offered to their children and wards. She said there were innumerable options available in other

institutions of higher learning in the country to satisfy the needs of

many tertiary education seekers. "Assessing these will avoid pushing their children and wards

into prestigious institutions only to be offered programmes or

courses they have no interest in or have the background for," she

added. Mrs Haizel made the call at the launching of the Fourth Higher

Education Fair in Accra. The fair being organised by the management of I-Texon Ghana

in partnership with the Ministry of Education and National Council

for Tertiary Education, is on the theme 93Mop-up; No Student Left

Behind". Two fairs would be organised this year, the first in Accra from

February 17- February 19 and the second at Sunyani from

February 24- February 26. The fairs are to give the public and private institutions the

opportunity to sell their institutions to students due to the

frustration they go through during selection. Good programmes in most of the institutions are not pursued

because applicants are not aware of their potentials as good career

opportunities. The fair would therefore help the beneficiaries to

make informed choices. Mrs Haizel explained that the objective of the fairs was to

engender information exchange in order to lessen the numerous

problems students faced in the selection and placement in

institutions of higher learning. "Ghana could become a nation of 91square pegs in round

holes', if the problem of misinformation and prejudiced

preferences for 91popular' universities are not checked. "Ghana stands to lose greatly from poorly developed human

capital resulting from problems students face in the selection of

higher education institutions and courses," she added. Mrs Haizel said available statistics indicated that about 150,000

students graduate from Senior High Schools (SHS) every year, out

of which only about 30 per cent gained admission into institutions

of higher learning. She pointed out that of the remaining 70 per cent, only five per

cent could not qualify to enter any tertiary institution; the 65 per

cent left were either uninformed or had been orientated to believe

that the only suitable avenue after SHS are the popular universities. "They therefore, channel all their energies into gaining

admission to these universities where incidentally, there are limited

slots available. Most of them do not gain access and have to re-

apply the following year, 93Mrs Haizel added. She described the situation as waste of time and resources

considering that there were innumerable options available in other

institutions of higher learning in the country to satisfy many tertiary

education seekers. Mrs Haizel therefore, called on the society to make conscious

effort to access the much needed information on tertiary

institutions at the fairs. Dr Joseph Samuel Annan, Deputy Minister of Education

(Tertiary Education), said although public institutions could

absorb about 35,000 students and private institutions, most of

them had vacancies because their programmes were not

adequately publicised. He said parents and guardians could not afford the high fees

after their children and wards had gained admission, or take

advantage of institutional mechanisms available due to lack of

information hence their children and wards became drop outs. Dr Annan expressed the hope the fairs would help solve the

problem of 93upgrades" where students acquired their first degrees

in various disciplines to increase their marketability. He attributed the cause of this phenomenon to the uncertainty

of the students in choosing programmes. "The type of orientation in institutions of higher learning is what

makes the individual marketable and should equip the student with

specific skills to tackle challenges in the society objectively," he

added. Dr Annan called on the society to be proactive in making

cogent decisions to secure the future of the youth by offering them

access to comprehensive and relevant information key to

development. The first fair was held in 2008