The commission is also to expedite action on applications by both public and private universities for presidential charters.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who made this known at the 14th commencement ceremony at the Ashesi University at Berekuso in the Eastern Region last Saturday, explained that the commission would ensure that all universities, public and private, were treated fairly and equally.

Presidential Charter

He said the government was taking steps to accelerate the granting of presidential charters to private universities because of their contribution to education and learning in the country.

He indicated that the six-year wait by the Ashesi University for a presidential charter, for instance, would become a thing of the past when the committee commenced its work.

The graduating class presented the President with a Kente muffler and made him an honorary member of the class, in recognition of his presenting the school with a Presidential Charter.

The President said it had been rewarding to witness the Ashesi University grow into such a world-class institution that was confident in its identity

He said he was pleased that it had fallen on him to present to the President of the university, “this exemplary Ghanaian, Dr Patrick Awuah, a charter from the President of the Republic that qualifies the university to be a fully independent university that can now award its own degrees”.

Cutting Corners

President Akufo-Addo commended Dr Awuah, who he said had stayed focused with integrity on his mission to establish a world-class university and did not cut corners the way others did.

He urged Ghanaians to emulate the Ashesi example not to cut corners and settle for the mediocre but insist on long-term good quality.

The President expressed his delight in the setting up of the Engineering School at Ashesi, which was ample proof that the institution was set up to meet the needs of Ghana and the continent and that within the short period of its existence, it had made a name for itself in the fields of Business Administration and Computer Science.

He said the school could have chosen to stick to those and other areas that did not require very expensive inputs but it remained true to its mission, which had culminated in a first-class Engineering School.

He said there were other institutions where standards had been compromised in the rush to increase numbers and where new courses were added without the provision of adequate facilities and faculty, “but Dr Awuah has stayed on his mission”.

Traits

President Akufo-Addo described as admirable traits of Ashesi, the decision of the school from the onset that its work was not done the day degrees were awarded to its students, but followed up to know if its graduates had jobs, how long it took them to find jobs and how they fared once they got jobs.

He said it was not surprising, therefore, that employers also took notice and Ashesi graduates had been doing well on the job market.

Roads

He announced that the government was actively seeking funds for the construction of the Dome-Berekuso-Kitase road, which was used by many of the students and others associated with the school to reach the campus, saying the school would hear some good news very soon.  

Honours

He said with his tenacity to attain excellence through integrity, it came as no surprise when Dr Awuah was named the sixth winner of the WISE Prize for Education by its Founder, Her Royal Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar, a fellow member of the Group of Eminent Advocates of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The President, who was on an official visit to Doha at the time of the awards, recounted that after the honours, a Qatari, on being introduced to him, said: ‘You must be the President of Patrick Awuah’s country.’

“That Qatari clearly had his priorities right,” he said. 

Dr Awuah

Dr Awuah recounted how he had travelled with his parents to Berekuso, the present location of the school, to acquire the land and the vision he had and the support from his parents.

He urged the students to keep dreaming because success always started with imagination, but also remember that as bold and brilliant as they might be, their success would depend on their ability to inspire the energies and contributions of others to their cause.