The Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Professor Stephen Adei has urged graduates from tertiary institutions in the country to be more innovative in creating new opportunities after school rather than focusing on the degrees they acquire.
This according to him would reduce graduate unemployment and create job opportunities and employ others who have not secured jobs after school.
Professor Adei who made the remarks at the 11th Congregation of the Garden City University College (GCUC) admonished the graduates from tertiary institutions to devise ways of impacting and improving themselves after leaving school.
“I want to encourage you to see your degree as a tool to teach yourself. Don’t finish school,” he advised
Support Private Universities in Ghana
The former rector for the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) called on the state to pay more attention to the development of private universities in the country since the future of higher education in Ghana lies in the private sector.
He said private universities were faced with some challenges and needed the support of the state to be able to overcome some of the issues affecting their operations.
He mentioned that private universities despite the challenges charge fees that are equivalent to public universities who are provided with the needed logistics and infrastructure for their operations.
“The state must include the private sector in its thinking of support, so that the support is not because it is a private or a public, but because a Ghanaian student is being educated,” he appealed.
Professor Adei also expressed worry over the discrimination against graduates from private universities, citing the case of job guarantee provided to graduates from public Nursing and Midwifery Training Schools at the expense of their colleagues from same institutions whilst graduates sit for same examination conducted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Our education system must keep pace with innovation-GCUC President
Speaking at the event which was themed; “The critical skills for the Upcoming innovation economy”, President of Garden City University College (GCUC), Professor Edward Kwame Asante emphasized need to shift from regular training of students to imparting them with the requisite innovative skills to enable them excel in the world of work.
He observed that automation was a key pillar of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and will have significant threat to Ghana’s need to create jobs.
He said 40 to 50 percent of jobs are going to be replaced by robots and automation. He therefore called for the expansion of education and training programmes to keep up with these new skills requirements.
“Our education system must keep pace with innovation. It is the demand for change that propels education systems to produce a country’s innovators, inventors, creators, problem solvers, entrepreneurs, global citizens, change makers, and critical thinkers”, he said
He advised the over 500 graduands to work hard and use the skills imparted on them to overcome the challenges that may come their way in the field of work.
He commended lecturers and staff of the University College for their immense contribution towards the growth of the institution.