Speech Delivered By His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, Vice President of The Republic of Ghana

Mr. Chairman

Honourable Ministers

Ambassador of the US

Country Rep of the IFC

Odeefuor Oteng Korankye II

Chief of Berekuso

Nananom

President and Mrs Patrick Awuah

Staff and faculty of Ashesi

Alumni and students of Ashesi

Members of the Diplomatic Corp

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a privilege and an honour for me to join you here this morning to witness this landmark event which marks the inaugural ceremony of the permanent Campus of Ashesi University.

On a memorable day like this, it is appropriate and fitting that we congratulate the Founders, Donors, Staff, Faculty, parents, students and all those who in diverse ways have contributed to the success story of Ashesi.

Over the past ten years, I have personally followed with keen interest the steady progress made my Ashesi when it started as one of the first universities to be established in the country following Government's decision to allow private participation in the tertiary sector. The vision of its founders raised the aspirations of many qualified people who desired tertiary education but could not get placement in the public universities.

For the past decade, Ashesi has distinguished itself as a first class institution that combines credible academic achievements with community service. By combining academic work with hands-on problem solving activities in the community your students are being given an opportunity to acquaint and adapt themselves to real life situations which they are likely to encounter after school. In this regard, Ashesi has taken the lead by raising the bar in higher education with the blend of liberal arts in its curriculum which makes your students critical thinkers and problem solvers. These are the type of products Ghana requires the universities to produce to enable the nation address its challenges of development. I therefore expect the products of Ashesi to develop entrepreneurial skills which will enable them set up their own businesses after school instead of seeking employment in the public sector.

Ashesi’s contribution to national development is highly commendable. Your students are found in all sectors of the economy. You have maintained a high standard of academic excellence and community service through hard work, discipline and a sense of purpose.

It is no wonder I am informed the products of this university are highly coveted in the job market. Our tertiary educational institutions must adjust their curricular and mode of training to suit industry and the world of work. Our tertiary institutions must not just become conveyor belts churning out graduates of all sorts who cannot be employed.

We must equip our new graduates with skills that allow them to think outside the box, to question the status quo, to innovate. And that is exactly what Ashesi University is doing. It is only with the creation of such critical human resource that Ghana can hope to gain and maintain leadership in an increasingly competitive world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am informed that, this impressive facility we see here today has been possible through the innovation and partnerships that Ashesi forged with institutions like USAID, IFC and other donor organizations. I commend these institutions and in particular the US government for supporting Ashesi to come this far. But let me say that, this has also been possible because of the leadership qualities and foresight of the people behind Ashesi. And on this occasion I wish to give particular credit to Prez and founder Dr. Patrick Awuah.

By thinking outside the box, by exploring opportunities and forging relationships both within and outside Ghana a dream like Ashesi has come into being. This is how society progresses and I expect the other public and private universities to learn from Ashesi experience. Also managers and leaders in the public and private sectors should also learn useful lessons from the success story of this great university and bring the needed change to their institutions.

Higher education is crucial in nurturing the skills, knowledge, and expertise that are essential to the economic and social development of any nation. The ability of our country to compete and face the challenges of the new millennium undoubtedly depends on the quality of tertiary education. In an increasingly scientific and technological world, no country can afford to ignore the importance of quality and technology-based education. Even though the private sector is being encouraged to set up more universities, this must not be done at the expense of quality education. The country needs scientists and other technologically based programmes to accelerate its development. Thus, the policies of the government shall continue to focus on quality and relevant education as we make our tertiary institutions responsive to the challenges of the times.

Mr. Chairman,

One area of concern to Government is that, higher education delivery has been totally dependent on Government funding over the years and with the rapid increase in student enrolment in our public universities it has become impossible for the Government to continue to fund tertiary education all by itself. Government will therefore continue to encourage the private sector to support tertiary education as Ashesi and others are doing, in order to reduce the pressure on the existing public universities. This is why government is opening two more new universities that is The University of Energy and Natural Resources at Sunyani and the University of Health and Allied Science in Ho to meet this demand of increasing human resource need.

Today we celebrate not just these beautiful facilities but what Ashesi has come to stand for, academic excellence that is practical, innovative, and geared to train the quality resource that makes as convinced that Africa's time has indeed come.

Thank Brekuso Chief for providing the land and also his pledge on behalf of his people to cooperate with Ashesi. Community relations are critical to the success of any institution. But I have no fears becos I know in the next few years citizens of Brekuso would testify that Ashesi is the best thing that happened in their lives.

Finally I wish to announce that the road from Kwabenya through Brekuso to Kitase has been awarded on contract.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me once again congratulate Ashesi for its great achievements and wish the university more better years ahead. I now have the pleasure to declare the Ashesi University College duly inaugurated.

Thank you.