More graduates venturing into gaming, betting - Lecturer

A lecturer and Business Consultant has warned that the crave for quick and easy wealth is making more Ghanaians graduates lazy to commit knowledge acquired in school to more productive ventures.

Mr. Thomas Kusi Boafo, who is a Lecturer at the Kumasi Polytechnic and the Ghana Baptist University College (GBUC) says the increasing spate of gaming and betting, coupled with technological scam, are depleting the country of quality human resource capacity could otherwise have channeled their skills and training into profitable ventures.

He noted that an estimated three million graduates are expected to go into gambling and gaming activities by 2017, cautioning that the situation could get worse considering the current increasing spate of youth unemployment.

Addressing students of the Garden City University College (GCUC) in Kumasi, during the official launch of the College’s 10th Anniversary Celebration, Mr. Kusi Boafo, who is also a Motivational Speaker, cited particularly, the emergence of various Sports Betting outlets across the country which have seen many youths, especially graduates patronising at the expense of learning.

According to him, the situation will deprive the country of innovators who must contribute to the socio-economic development of the country by making good use of the knowledge acquired in school.

He cautioned that excessive gaming and betting do not only corrupt the social fibre and breed indiscipline but it also compounds our already insurmountable problems of youth unemployment.

“If you have a situation where one can make GHc1,000 a day by spending a few cedis without sweat, then such person is more likely to enter into that venture than to spend precious time cracking his brains. The result is continuous unemployment and over-dependency,” he noted.

Mr. Kusi Boafo further noted that most students of today are only interested in acquiring certificates and bragging about it rather than looking at innovative ways of putting to good use the knowledge acquired upon completion of studies.

“A certificate is nothing if it cannot transform your life and benefit you, your community and your country, how you will bring the knowledge acquired to light and make it visible for people to benefit is what matters, you should know that the choice you make today will determine what you become tomorrow, ” Mr. Kusi Boafo emphasized.

Speaking on the theme: “Celebrating A Decade of Creating the Next Generation of Innovators”, Mr. Kusi Boafo said with over 72% percent dependency ratio coupled with the fact that only 2 percent of graduates in the country are likely to secure mainstream jobs upon completion of their education, the choice is now left to students to cultivate a unique way of creating wealth.

“The job market is already choked, as you go out there you will be confronted with the harsh reality of social pressure, poverty, ignorance and dependency but you need to be smart and adopt innovative ways of confronting these challenges,” he advised.

He said in order to overcome these socio-economic challenges, Ghana must possess graduates who are innovators of good deeds and are ready to sacrifice, no matter the cost, in order to create a more sustainable enterprises that can benefit present and future generations.

“You should know that at the end of the day, you will be recognized by results and not your certificate. Your certificate is only a selfish document that does not even recognize the person who funded your education-your parents, why then must you brag about it if you cannot transform that certificate into wealth,” he noted.

The Chartered Accountant noted that lots of wealthy and successful personalities, including Bill Gates and Henry Ford among others, did not possess any rich certificate, with most of them being school drop-outs, but they managed to create business empires through hard work and determination.

He, therefore, advised the students to cultivate the habit of saving and become financially disciplined by avoiding lavish spending, adding “you need to learn a lot and development your potential because it is the only way you can surmount the challenges ahead of you”

The President of the University Council, Dr. Wilhelmina Donkor, said the idea of the establishment of GCUC was mooted after it was realized that government alone could not shoulder the responsibility of providing university education to numerous potential students looking for access to higher learning.

She stated that the school started from a humble beginning with just 17 students, but now boasts of over 2,321 students, stressing that despite the numerous challenges, GCUC continues to churn competent and disciplined materials who are contributing to the development of the country.

She said the GCUC’s strength lies on its innovative skills and unique approach to its academic activities, stressing that the school was the first private university in the country to introduce nursing and other related health courses, which have recently been adopted by other private universities.

“We encountered lots of challenges along the way, more especially with the issue of certificates, but all these challenges have been surmounted because of hard work and commitment,” she noted.

Dr. Wilhelmina Donkor, however, pleaded with the government to respond to the numerous requests for the construction of the Kumasi-Kenyasi road which she said continued to pose serious threats and nightmarish experience to people who ply the road.

A Member of University Council and Chairman for the occasion, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, stated that private universities have immense role to play in ensuring the development of quality education in the country.

He, therefore, challenged the school to work hard towards becoming a full-fledged university that can award its own certificates.

The GCUC is currently affiliated to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and offers various courses in Business Studies, Health and Allied Sciences and Applied Sciences.