A call has been made to the University of Cape Coast to establish a Neighborhood Academic Initiative where school children in primary schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis will be inspired to work hard to achieve success academically and in life.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum who made this call at the launch of the University of Cape Coasts’ 60th anniversary indicated that the university which is at the forefront of education is also at the forefront of social transformation and as such if the institution works hard the future will be different and promising.
He said the University of Cape Coast need to also as part of the initiative be ready to provide the primary schools with literacy tutors who will help the pupils to read so that a high percentage of pupils who have gotten to class six and can read can be recorded in the Metropolis.
He said, “let us change Cape Coast and that will be the lasting legacy of the University of competitive choice. If you do this, UCC Neighbourhood Academic Initiative, you will be the first university in Africa to do that and your bus will be presented to you within the next two weeks.”
Pledging government’s support to the initiative, he said Cape Coast being the citadel of learning must not be the place where they have poor learning outcomes.
“We owe Cape Coast a lot, so University of competitive choice step into the classrooms in Cape Coast and lift up the children from Cape Coast and let their future be better,” he further added.
While stressing the importance of the theme for the anniversary, “60 years of quality higher education: expanding the frontiers”, Chairman of the University of Cape Coast Council, Professor Obeng Mireku indicated that the University’s 60 years does not signify retirement but the commencement of greater achievements by the University.
He, therefore, urged all stakeholders of the University to not relent but work harder to build on the University’s accomplishments over the years.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Johnson Nyarko Boampong, highlighting some successes chalked said “the university has now grown into a very big Oak tree under which many have come to seek shelter.
He noted that currently, the University’s collective image as an institution is high adding “we are reputed across the sub-region and indeed globally as the bastion of not only academic excellence but as a pacesetter in higher education.”
As part of the launch, there were activities such as cake cutting, delivery of goodwill messages, the sharing of experiences by some alumni, fundraising, and the presentation of a motorbike to a physically challenged UCC graduate.
Visit the https://www.facebook.com/atlfm1005 for more beautiful picture stories of the UCC 60th Anniversary launch
Source: Rosemond Asmah/ATLFMNEWS
