Conference on Postgraduate Education opens in Winneba
Professor Nii Noi Dowuona, Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education, said Ghana must invest more in post graduate education to meet her aspirations of creating a nation with people living a long, productive and meaningful live.
He said these aspirations, as enshrined in the Constitution, would remain elusive if the nation did not grow her human capital.
Prof. Dowuona said this at the 17th Annual Dialogue on Postgraduate Education in Winneba on Friday.
The four-day conference was organised by the Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG).
It was under the theme; “Enhancing Research Education for National Development: The need for National Policy and Funding for Postgraduate Education”.
Prof. Dowuona stressed the need to grow the human capital when he spoke on the topic; “Meeting the Nations Developmental Aspirations; the Need for a National Policy on Postgraduate Education and the Role of Government in Facilitating Postgraduate Education in Ghana”.
He said there was the need for a national policy on postgraduate education because of limited resources.
He suggested that a research fund must be set up for researchers in priority areas to compete for, adding that in the allocation of funds, credit must be given to institutions that had more graduate students.
Prof. Samuel M. Quartey, Dean of the School of Research and Graduate Studies (SRGS) of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), said government scholarships should be extended to all those undertaking postgraduate studies to enable them to concentrate on their studies as was being done for their counterparts abroad.
Speaking on the topic; “Accessing Funds for Quality Research Work for Postgraduate Programmes – The Way Forward,” Prof. Quartey said research firms and organisations should also take interest in students’ research works and pay for researches in relevant areas.
“If such funds are made available, post-graduate students will be compelled to select topics which will address some the problems such organization may face”.
He suggested that the government, through the GETFund, should fund post-graduate studies, adding that as a matter of policy, “we need to enforce that all those who gain admission into relevant postgraduate programmes locally will be given study leave with pay to encourage them to study”.
“If this is done and their outputs are also funded, students will put up their best to produce quality research which will benefit the nation in its development efforts,” he said.
Prof. Augustine Yao Quarshiga, Associate Professor at UEW, who chaired the function, appealed to postgraduates to always use dialogue to address their problems.
He said; “We are in the brain world and not blow world and therefore should not be militants.”
He said as students they should ensure to work to find solutions to challenges that may come their way.
Source: GNA