Technical universities sports association games underway in Cape Coast
The Ghana Technical Universities Sports Association (GHATUSA) games is underway in Cape Coast in the Central Region.
About 1000 sportsmen and women from 10 technical universities and about 400 officials are participating in the 12-day sports festival.
It is on the theme "Embracing sports for national development, the role of technical universities."
The participating technical universities include the host, Cape Coast Technical University, the Kumasi Technical University, Takoradi Technical University, Ho Technical University, Koforidua Technical, Accra Technical, Tamale Technical University, Sunyani Technical University, Bolgatanga Technical University and the Dr Hilla Limann Technical University in Wa.
They are competing in football, badminton, volleyball, basketball and athletics.
Opening the festival in Cape Coast on Monday, the Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams said the government was committed to establishing a School Sports Agency to ensure adequate funding for sports development from basic to tertiary education level.
"We have decided at the level of government to establish a School Sports Agency, an agency that will be responsible for supporting schools right from the foundational level all the way through to the tertiary level when it comes to sports," he stated.
"We do not want funding to be a challenge, to be a barrier to the talents that you have," he stressed.
He said the government would not wait to develop such talents at the tertiary level saying the government would ensure that talents were nurtured right from the foundational level to the tertiary level.
VCTU-G Chairman
The Chairman of the Vice Chancellors of Technical Universities of Ghana, (VCTU-G) Prof. John Frank Eshun, said the technical universities were not only institutions for academic learning and skills development but centres for holistic human development where sports played a critical role in shaping character, promoting teamwork and fostering discipline among young people.
He encouraged all participants to compete with passion, discipline and fairness saying "GHATUSA is a prestigious event but it is the spirit of sportsmanship that gives it true meaning."
He urged them to challenge themselves but play fairly saying festival could be a stepping stone to greater opportunities.
