The Founding President of the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON), Francis Asenso-Boakye, has urged the organisation’s newly appointed national executives to strengthen its role as a centre for policy research, intellectual engagement and leadership development within the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He said TESCON’s contribution to the party should go beyond campus political activities to include research, policy formulation and constructive discussions on national development challenges.
“TESCON must be more than a platform for campus political activities. It must become a centre for intellectual engagement, policy research and the development of ideas that can help shape the future of our country,” he said.
Mr Asenso-Boakye made the remarks when the NPP National Youth Organiser, Abanga Fuseni, led a delegation of newly appointed national youth and TESCON executives on a courtesy call to seek his guidance and support at his office in Accra last Tuesday.
The meeting allowed Mr Fuseni to also introduce his two deputies and the newly appointed national TESCON leadership.
Promote policy discussions
The Member of Parliament for Bantama said TESCON, which he helped establish about 26 years ago, was conceived not merely as a political platform for tertiary students but also as an institution for nurturing knowledgeable, responsible and visionary leaders.
He, therefore, encouraged the new executives to promote research, public policy discussions, debates and intellectual exchanges on issues affecting Ghana’s development.
“Tertiary institutions have enormous intellectual resources.
We must create the space for students to apply their knowledge to the challenges facing the country and contribute practical ideas to national development,” he said.
Leadership development
In the view of Mr Asenso-Boakye, TESCON had demonstrated its capacity to nurture political talent, pointing to the number of its alumni who had risen to occupy leadership positions within the NPP and in public life.
He cited the party’s General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, and Second Vice-Chairman, Henry Nana Boakye, as examples of former TESCON members who had advanced to key leadership positions.
In Parliament, he mentioned himself and other TESCON alumni, including Kwame Appiah-Koduah, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, Stephen Amoah, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Charles Owiredu, Gideon Boako, Nana Asafo-Adjei, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, Frank Asiedu Bekoe and Sammi Awuku.
He also referred to former ministers, including Isaac Kwame Asiamah, as well as several chief executives and public officials who had passed through the organisation.
According to him, the achievements of those alumni underscored the importance of investing in the leadership development of young people.
