December 16, 2015
Ashesi was the host of Campus Connect, a presidential initiative, pioneered by the Ministry of Education, to foster interaction between students of tertiary institutions and government officials. In attendance was a delegation led by the Minister of Education, Professor Naana Opoku-Agyemang, including officials from the Student Loan Trust Fund, National Service Scheme, Youth Enterprise Support, Council for Technical, Vocational Education and Training, and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.
Other government officials present included the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary, Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa; Deputy Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Honorable Abla Dzifa Gomeshie; Deputy Minister for Transport, Honourable Joyce Bawa Mogtari; Deputy Minister for Health, Honourable Victor Bampoe and the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Honourable Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey.
Dr. Patrick Awuah, who chaired the forum, expressed his excitement about the opportunity for Ashesi to host Campus Connect. “It is a wonderful idea for the government and public leaders to engage with stakeholders including universities,” he said. “It is useful for our students to have direct engagement with policymakers and get an understanding on the reasoning behind public policy in Ghana, and in so doing learn on their journey to becoming leaders themselves.”
The forum opened with speeches from student leaders from Ashesi and the Private University Students Association of Ghana. This was followed by a series of presentations from the Ministers of State about their various offices. On her part, the Minister of Education spoke on the idea behind Campus Connect.
“We don’t think our work is best done behind our desks,” she said. “We like to be on the field, setting up projects, visiting schools on an ordinary day to have the feel of the campus when nobody is looking. We also want to hear from faculty on an informal basis about their challenges and ways we can support them.”
The rest of the presentations not only touched on the roles of the government offices, but also centered on passion, innovation, and creativity within the tertiary education space. “Have the courage to follow your dream,” said Honourable Kwetey. “The only way you can reach the top is by following what you truly love. In Africa, we suffer from passion deficit and this leads to creativity deficit. Follow your creative ideas that really make you profitable to your society. The change can happen when every single one of us, is ready to not rest until we bring that change that is required.”
Afterward, the ministers addressed questions, comments, and suggestions from students, staff and faculty of Ashesi and members of the general public present. Issues addressed included the state of national health insurance, tertiary education, and accreditation for private tertiary institutions.
“The campus connect is a great initiative,” said Aba Wilmot ’17. “It is a good opportunity for the ministers to engage with us and hear and understand some of our frustrations first hand, rather than us having to deal with the stress of trying to visit them in their offices. It would indeed be great to see them act on the feedback we have to give them.”
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