Pentecost University Holds 3rd Matriculation

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, 03 October 2006
THE Pentecost University College in Accra held its third matriculation at the weekend.

It was under the theme: "Empowering students to serve their generation and posterity in excellence." A total of 503 students made up of 351 males and 152 females, took the matriculation oath.

The university, which started in 2003 with 130 students, now has a student population of 864 and three faculties in Business Administration, Information Technology and Theology and Mission.

Besides training students for dissemination of knowledge for an excellent human resource base, the PUC is also committed to ensuring the highest level of integrity and ethical standards towards total transfor-mation of society.

Professor Kwame Ampofo Twumasi, a deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports who deputized for the Minister, Papa Owusu Ankomah, as the guest of honour, said the new education reform with the objective of reaching a 100 per cent completion rate for female and male student at the basic level by 2015 and also increase enrolment in science based courses to humanities in the ratio of 60:40, will be implemented next year.

"The new reforms is in tandem with the country’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy II (GPRS) which seeks to emphasise growth and wealth creation as a means of reducing poverty," he said.

To meet the constitutional obligation of ensuring universal compulsory and free basic education, Prof. Twumasi said the ¢129.4 billion provided for the 2005/2006 academic year capitation grant, had been increased to ¢160 billion for 2006/2007.

He said an estimated 17,612 teachers will be needed to ensure the smooth take off of the new reforms adding, "the teachers will adequately be motivated to ensure that the objectives of the reforms are realised."

Prof. Twumasi said government was fashioning out a more comprehensive and acceptable review of salaries ands conditions of service for teachers and appealed to a section of them (teachers) currently on industrial action to return to the classrooms whilst government speeds up the process of improving their conditions of service.

He commended private stakeholders, especially the missions for complementing government’s effort to provide tertiary education.

The Rev. Dr Opoku Onyinah, Rector of the PUC, declared the institution’s support for the Methodist Church’s decision to ban the wearing of miniskirts and urged students to ensure maximum and meaningful use of time in campus life.