Accra, March 11,- Private
universities have appealed to the Government for a downward review of statutory
charges like the accreditation and annual affiliation fees to enable them to
stay in business to support the training of the country’s middle-man power
needs.
Professor Komla A. Dzisi, the
Rector of the University College of Management Studies (UCMS), made the appeal
in an interview with the media at the Seventh Congregation of the University in
Accra, on Saturday.
He said scrapping of those
statutory payments and tax exemptions would keep them in business because those
charges were eating into their coffers.
Prof. Dzisi said private tertiary
educational institutions had suffered dwindling enrolment in recent times due
to the conversion of polytechnics into technical universities that were
offering degree programmes,
“We use to get a lot of students
from the polytechnics that came here for top-ups, but now those institutions
are technical universities and offering first degrees.
“Formerly polytechnics were
restricted to High National Diploma (HND) and so after their programmes, they
could come to institutions like ours for their first degrees, but now they’re
admitting those students, and directly taking SHS graduates to pursue degrees,
which have affected our admission figures,” he said.
He, however, debunked the
argument that high admission fees by the private universities was the reason
for the reduction in enrolment figures, saying private universities have
flexible payment plans for students, coupled with conducive facilities for workers
to further their education.
Prof. Dzisi said the UCMS would
continue to collaborate with its mentor institutions, including the University
College of Education, Winneba and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science
Technology to enable prospective students, who could not secure admissions into
those institutions, to enrol there.
“For instance, the University of
Education, Winneba (UEW) is our mentor institution, so instead of the UEW
turning away students that applied for admission, there should be an
arrangement for those students to come here,” he suggested.
Prof. Ruby Hanson, the Dean of
Science Education at the UEW, who represented the Vice Chancellor, admonished
the graduating students to shun the “get-rich-quick” mentality after securing
employment, which led some employees to engage in nefarious activities at the
detriment of the nation.
She said the UEW would continue
to mentor and collaborate with the UCMS to develop future leaders to accelerate
national development.
Dr Sazra Opata, the Chairman of
the Board of Directors, UCMS, said the University was in the process of
securing accreditation for the faculties of Governance, Health Services,
Education, Humanities and Social Sciences.
He expressed optimism that those
programmes would commence in the next academic year in September this year.
Dr Opata urged the graduands to
be innovative and establish their own businesses instead of looking up to the
Government for jobs.
The University has chalked 44
years since its inception in 1974, and surmounted many challenges.
Currently it has students across
Africa including Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Nigeria, Mauritania, La Cote
d’Ivoire, and Togo.
It offers programmes such as
Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Banking and Finance, Human Resource
Management and Marketing as well as Procurement and Supply Chain Management.
In all 420 students graduated,
with Mr Bashiru Karim being adjudged the Overall Best Student.
GNA
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