IPS holds 2005 Matriculation

Accra, April 15, GNA - The business professional institutions were on Friday asked to play a leading role in moving the private sector forward by coming out with innovative and imaginative products that would suit the needs of the sector.

Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State in Charge of Tertiary Education and Sports, who made the call explained that such well-qualified accounting, marketing and management professionals were needed in every sector of Ghana's economy to compete favourably in the global economy.

Speaking at the 2005 Matriculation of the Institute of Professional Studies (IPS) in Accra, Ms Ohene said human resources development depended so much on sound and relevant education like what was being offered by IPS.

She thus advised management to continue to employ the services of experienced business practitioners to share their rich experiences with students and make their training relevant to the needs of the economy. Ms Ohene said the Ministry had embarked on a programme to strengthen the Guidance and Counselling services of the Ghana Education Service so that young people were guided to make the best of their God-given talents by choosing careers out of love and not out of convenience. She said most often students chose certain careers because they did not have the required grades to pursue preferred careers and that led to inefficient professionals and urged the 414 matriculates to be committed to their chosen professions and come out as better experts in their fields.

The Reverend Father John J. Martey, Director, IPS announced that the Institute would from September, offer bachelor degree and diploma programmes in addition to its traditional professional training, courses under which its students would be internally examined.

The IPS, which is to introduce the Course in Marketing, Administration and Accounting in affiliation with the University of Ghana, Legon would also undertake research and management consultancy. Rev Martey said it had become more important to add to the Institute's existing portfolio of courses, some internally assessed programmes to address the situation where a considerable number of professional students admitted were unable to make it at the end of their stay in IPS.

He also announced with the enactment of the three government's Public Procurement Act, new certificate courses in Auditing and Financial Controls, Procurement Practice, Company Secretarial Practice and Accounting and Financial Management were to be introduced to ensure that the required management personnel were available on the job market. He said students of the IPS would also be put on practical attachment, especially to their family businesses as part of their training for them to be really equipped for the job market.

He said the IPS had been admitted as Associate member of the Association African Universities (AUU)- a cooperation that would further the goals of the AUU and IPS for the development of higher education on the continent.

He said an alumni fund was to be established to provide support in the provision of scholarships, teaching and learning resources for the library and sports and culture funding for student activities. Among the matriculates were 296 males and 118 females offering various courses in Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).