Erratic power supply crippling academic work
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Professor Akwasi Asabere-Ameyaw, has complained about erratic power supply to public academic institutions and said the situation is crippling their operations.
Frequent power interruption, he said, was undermining productivity and seriously affecting academic work in the universities.
He has, therefore, appealed to the government to act quickly to tackle the problem.
Addressing the 19th congregation of the College of Technology Education of the University in Kumasi, Prof. Asabere-Ameyaw said while some of the universities were trying to augment electricity supply with generators, that was not being helped by the high cost of fuel.
A total of 2,521 students graduated and received master’s and bachelor’s degrees.
Prof. Asabere-Ameyaw spoke about growing unemployment and said it presented an explosive situation which needed urgent attention to prevent an imminent catastrophe.
He appealed to the graduates to do whatever they were asked to do with precision - they should be hard working, develop right attitudes and be time conscious.
The Paramount Chief of the Enyan-Maim Traditional Area, Okofo Amoako Abondam III, who is the council chairman, advised the graduates to hold firm to the key employable skills, competencies, attitudes and orientation they had been exposed to.
At another ceremony at the College of Agriculture Education of the University at Asante-Mampong, 8,518 students graduated and Prof. Asabere-Ameyaw expressed discomfort with the dwindling support in investment from the government and other external partners.
In the 2012/2013 academic year, donor support to the university was in excess of $1 million but this dropped to US$727,240 in 2013/2014, a reduction of about 32 per cent.
He put the funding requirement based on the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) norms for providing quality education at about GH¢ 566 million but said the university’s income was GH¢190 million, leaving a funding gap of close to 70 per cent.
The vice chancellor announced the setting up of research and innovation fund to promote research and innovation activities.
Nine hundred (900) of the students graduated with master’s degrees and eight others with Doctor of Philosophy (PhDs).
Credit: GNA
