Government’s digitization drive is key to harnessing human resources - Bawumia

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has reiterated that the government’s digitisation drive will result in effective planning to harness the maximum use of human, natural and other resources for accelerated growth.

He said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Stephen Yakubu, Upper East Regional Minister, at the maiden congregation for the first cohort of postgraduate students, admitted into the school of Science, Mathematics and Technology education (SoSMTE) for the 2020/2021 academic year at the C.K Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences (CKT-UTAS) in Navrongo.

The 51 graduates pursued the Master of Education (science education), Master of Education (Mathematics education) and one year top-up Master of Philosophy (Science education) and Master of Philosophy (Mathematics Education).

Dr Bawumia said the CKT-UTAS was playing a significant role in the digitisation process through its training of students and community service and the government was expecting it to continue to serve as a platform for rapid development of the Northern Sector and too fast track the achievement of the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ vision.

Professor Eric Magnus Wilmot, the Vice-Chancellor of the University said out of 2,434 applicants comprising 1686 undergraduates and 748 post-graduates who applied for admissions to the university, 877 students comprising 558 undergraduates and 329 post-graduates representing 36 per cent of the applicants were admitted undertaking various programmes of study at the university.

He attributed the challenge to inadequate accommodation on campus and mentioned other significant projects that needed to be completed, such as some Getfund projects which had been stalled.

He also mentioned a four-storey library complex, four-storey lecture, and office complex, three-story laboratory complex and under-ground water tank project.

He said though Ghana Education Trust Fund had visited to assess the projects, nothing had been done and called for expedited action on them.

“The central administration of the university is currently housed in a laboratory building that makes coordination among key offices and officers difficult,’ He added.

Professor Wilmot also appealed for ultramodern laboratories for the applied science programmes as well as information, technology, and computer science programmes

He lamented the poor road network on campus and called on the government to help fix the roads to beautify the university since the contractor working on it had abandoned the work.

Giving the history of the university, Professor Wilmot indicated that in the then UDS, the university housed three faculties, the Faculty of Applied Science (FAS), Faculty of Mathematics Sciences (FMS) and Faculty of Earth and Environmental Science(FEES).

He said since its restructuring and realignment of more academic programmes under the 12 schools, it was expecting more to be able to drive its mandate of providing higher education, research, and disseminating knowledge related to development in the integrated technology and applied sciences.

In 2019, the Government made each of the campuses of the University for Development studies autonomous including; the CK Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences at Navrongo and the S.D Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) in WA in the Upper West Region, which had been upgraded to full-fledged Universities.

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