AJUMAKO TO SERVE AS UEW CAMPUS (PAGE 21, NOV 12)

THE decision of the government to hand over the Ghana Education Service Development Institute (GESDI) at Ajumako to serve as a campus of the University of Education, Winneba(UEW), is irrevocable.
The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, who made the declaration, said his ministry would, therefore, speed up the process for the benefit of the UEW, adding that the government had set up a committee that was working on the final process.
That was a personal assurance before he read a speech on behalf of the President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, at the 14th congregation of the UEW in Winneba, during which 5,439 graduates were awarded diploma and degree.
President Mills said the government would support the UEW and other universities to expand their distance education programmes to address the problem of limited access to tertiary education.
He commended the universities for using the medium of distance education to expand access to tertiary education.
He, however, expressed the need for them to co-ordinate their activities in that area to achieve maximum results.
The President said considerable efforts were being made to create congenial conditions for effective and efficient education delivery across the country, adding that the government was committed to rectifying all salary distortions to give teachers their due by applying the single spine salary structure.
The Vice-Chancellor of the UEW, Professor Akwasi Asabre-Ameyaw, said currently the student population stood at 33,271, noting that both students and staff lacked the requisite residential and office accommodation, and asked the government for massive financial support to improve facilities to facilitate the training of quality teachers.
He commended the staff, donors and individuals whose support had immensely sustained the university.
The Chairman of the University Council, Dr Emmanuel Kenneth Andoh, also known as Okofo Amoako Bondam III, the Omanhene of the Enyan-Maim Traditional Area, advised the new graduates to lead lives worthy of emulation.