Legon Must Renew Itself - Prof. Kwapong

By Stephen Kwabena Effah
Wednesday, 09 January 2008

The first Ghanaian Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Alexander Kwa-pong, has urged the university to carve out a new and appropriate niche, and renew itself as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.

He said that although the university is still the "Primus Inter Pares," (first among equals) and has made an indispensable contribution to the country’s development, it must adapt and change itself to conform to current trends.

Launching the anniversary in Accra yesterday, he said that it is important for the university to have a clearer appreciation and deeper understanding of what it has accomplished so far and what needs to be done in the immediate, medium and long term future to make it "a truly great century world university".

The anniversary has the theme: "Legon-Charting a New Course". Activities for the anniversary include the re-launch of the university’s endowment fund, presidential debate, West Africa inter-university games and an international conference.

It will be climaxed in August, the month the university was chartered, with a special congregation to award honorary degrees.

Professor Kwa-pong noted that the higher education landscape in Ghana is now different from the early pioneering days, hence the need for the University of Ghana to re-examine its focus.

He said that he welcomes the complete overhaul and revamping of the university’s infrastructure and resources as recommended by the visitation panel to the university last month in its report.

He underscored the need to restore quality to the university as an academic institution by assuring quality to its faculty, teaching and research and by giving very high priority to expanding and enhancing graduate progra-mmes.

He also advised the university to reform "its fraught examination system".
Prof. Kwapong praised the university council and the Vice Chancellor for appointing the Visitation Panel which he described as timely and urged the authorities concerned to implement the well –thought out recommendations.

It is important to honour Ghanaian pioneers and all those who laid the solid

foundation for the growth and development of the university into a great African university, he said.

Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse, Chief Adviser to the President and a member of the university council, pledged the government’s commitment to implementing the recommendations, of the panel, saying "the government takes the report seriously".