GHANA: Three percent of Ghanians have access to Tertiary Education says_Mr Gideon Quarcoo

04/EEN/012

Telecom University Admits 341 Students

A section of the 341 fresh students admitted at the Ghana Telecom University in a procession. This was during the seventh matriculation of the university.

A total of 341 students have gained admission into the Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC) to pursue various certificate, diploma and degree  programmes.

Among the newly admitted students, 67 are foreign nationals from 12 countries.

This brings the total student population to 1,565, including 240 foreign students from 23 countries.

Addressing the fresh students at a matriculation ceremony in Accra on Saturday, the President of the GTUC, Dr Osei K. Darkwa, said in today’s globalised era economy, knowledge, learning communities and information and communication technologies were the engines of social and economic development.

The future of Africa, he said, depended on its willingness to harness the new information and communication technologies to advance development.

“This is the key that can open the doors of the new global economy and its benefits to us. A nation unable to join this new economic order, unable to harness the power of ICT is effectively locked out of the new global economy, and forced to remain a marginal player on the world economic stage,” he added.

He, therefore, urged the new students to use the knowledge they would acquire at the school to help change the face of poverty and despair to income and hope.

“The expectation is that you will use what you learn here to make a difference in the lives of the people of this country and beyond, to help the people of this country become prosperous and healthy,” he added.

That, he said, was the challenge to them as future leaders of Ghana and as global citizens.

The Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr Gideon Quarcoo, said  GTUC  aimed at providing the students with  intellectual foundation to enable them make sense of what was going on around them.

He noted that only three per cent of Ghanaians had access to tertiary education and added that it was, therefore,  a privilege to be admitted to the GTUC.

Mr Quarcoo, who is also a council member of the GTUC said: “Your time at this great university will sharpen your sense of discovery, and there is no better catalyst for success than curiosity.

It is through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we’ve always mapped our path. There is always an opportunity to make a difference.”

Speaking on behalf of all matriculating students, Mr Benjamin Adjei Mensah, said he chose to pursue his tertiary education at GTUC because it had qualified and competent faculty and administrative staff to help shape his future.