Managers of tertiary educational institutions should focus on technology-based courses that will meet the demand of modern society, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, has said.
He said that was the best way to produce the calibre of graduates who would proffer solutions to the myriad of development challenges confronting the country, including youth unemployment.
“As a country, we need a deliberate and holistic educational system that will result in the total development of our human resource and produce graduates with the right mentality to be job-creators rather than being job-seekers,” he added.
The Archbishop was speaking at the fourth congregation of the Catholic Institute of Business and Technology (CIBT) in Accra yesterday during which 100 graduands, made up of 27 graduates and 73 undergraduates, received their certificates.
Catholic Church lauded
Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle, who is also the Chancellor of CIBT, observed that the essence of education was to develop the totality of the individual, stressing that faith-based organisations (FBOs) needed to partner the public sector to achieve that goal.
He lauded the contribution made by the Catholic Church to education infrastructure at all levels of education, a development he said had helped to build people with the right intellectual, moral and social virtues.
Touching on the link between education and national development, he observed that sound education ought to inculcate the virtues of discipline, hard work, and a sense of patriotism in all citizens.
Tenacity
While encouraging the public to be diligent and determined in all that they would do, Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle, eulogised the resilience of Mr Samuel Alornyo, a 76-year-old Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduand.
“If a man at 76 can still pursue an MBA programme, that underscores the importance of tenacity in our national life. It simply tells us that as a people, we have to keep on working hard at our workplaces to develop our country,” he said.
Robust education
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UT Holdings, Mr Martyn Mensah, the guest speaker, called on policy makers in education to redirect their efforts to skills-oriented education.
He said that was the way forward to build a robust human resource base with the technical ability to solve problems.
Mr Mensah said the private sector and FBOs ought to continue to play pivotal roles in the education sector by coming out with industry-focused courses.
“A majority of the students who graduate from senior high schools (SHSs) cannot find space in the public tertiary institutions due to limited space.
“Also, most of the students who get space in the public sector schools pursue courses that are traditional in nature, and come out looking for employment in the public sector,” he said.
Other speakers at the event urged the graduands to be dedicated and apply the knowledge they had acquired to create employment opportunities that would develop the country.
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