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Dr Maxwel Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Education, has encouraged graduates of universities to reflect on what they could contribute to society and use the knowledge acquired to propel the development of the country.

He said the country was not benefiting enough from the high number of graduates as it continued to be deficient in many areas of development and stressed the need for them to change their orientation towards enhancing the growth of the nation.

“Thirty years ago, there were not many people with the degrees that you have. You are in a class of a selected few and so let us see and feel your presence in the economy and the society,” he added.

Dr Opoku Prempeh was addressing post-graduate students of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) at its 17th Session of the 50th Congregation at the weekend during which 1,104 students graduated.

Fifty four graduated with PhDs, 202 MPhil, 608 MCom/ MBA, 119 MSc/MEd, 60 MAs, nine for Master of Nursing, and 60 Post-Graduate Diploma and Certificate in various disciplines.

Dr Prempeh recounted how Ghana progressed so well during independence with little graduates but same could not be said of today where a significant proportion of the population were university graduates.

“In 1957 when Ghana became independent, I do not think we had PhD holders in the country. With the assemblage of this degrees and knowledge, Ghana should not be found wanting. Therefore wherever you find yourself, you have to brighten your corner.”

He urged the graduates to inculcate the spirit of serving the nation, volunteerism and commitment to duty and ensure that the country got maximum benefits from the knowledge acquired.

Professor Joseph Ghartey-Ampiah, the Vice Chancellor, said the University desired to increase graduate enrolment, which stood at 4,591, representing six per cent of the total enrolment, to bring their knowledge to bear on the nation’s development.

He said their education was paramount on the University’s agenda hence it had established a Centre for Graduate Professional Development to boost graduate studies and enhance employability and job responsibly.

Prof. Ghartey-Ampiah said 12 new demand-driven programmes had been approved by the Academic Board to the over 390 existing ones.

He said UCC would continue to diversify its mode of graduate education delivery to increase enrolment for distance education.


He charged the graduands to persevere, guard against complacency and work hard to contribute their quota to the improvement and growth of the country.

Mrs Nancy Thompson, the Chairperson of UCC Governing Council, noted that though graduate education was indispensable to economic growth and sustainable development, it seemed to be constrained due to challenges in developing countries, which prevented the realisation of its associated benefits.

She called on government assisted universities to be provided with ultramodern laboratories, infrastructural development and related equipment to make post-graduate studies more beneficial.