The School of Graduate Studies of Presbyterian University College, Ghana (PUCG) has graduated 348 students made up of 203 males and 145 females out of a total of 390 enrolled for the academic year.
The overall completion rate is 89 percent, below the University’s target of 100 percent completion rate. While some candidates deferred their programmes, some could not write examinations because of nonpayment of fees, others did not submit their dissertation for examination, and the University lost two of its students.
The 348 students graduated in Master of Education in Educational Studies, Master of Arts in International Development Studies, Master of Science in Financial Risk Management, Master of Science in Natural Resources Management, and Master of Science in Environmental Health and Sanitation.
In addition to the five programmes, the University is running a sixth programme in M.Phil. in Educational Studies, which started in January this year and has about 90 students enrolled on the programme.
The University has also received approval from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission to run Master of Public Health (MPH) which starts in June 2021 at the Asante Akyem Campus.
Fee payment
The President of PUCG disclosed that a number of Ghanaian students, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although brilliant, have challenges with payment of fees stating that the University is seriously considering setting up a Students’ Fees Office.
According to Rev. Prof. Adow Obeng the Office will be charged with the responsibility of raising funds from philanthropists, corporate bodies, and interested persons to support such students pay their fees which he believes will be a great support to a number of students.
Partnership
The PUCG has signed a collaborative agreement with Bielefied University which involves a roll out of a Child Protection project funded by EMMY-NOETHER programme.
The project which involves three countries – Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda and will span a period of six years, has a component for provision of scholarship for staff members who are interested in pursuing PhD in the area of child protection.
According to the President of PUCG, the University intends to set up a Child Protection Centre, three years into the project. “The Centre will carry out research and run postgraduate programmes in Child protection and related areas,” he said.
Living the Values
Reflecting on the theme for the graduation ceremony – “Living the Values”, Rev. Prof. Adow Obeng said “Without mincing words, I would say that the Ghanaian attitude is bad and has adversely affected every fabric of our society.”
According to him, the Ghanaian attitude is the cause of carnage on our roads, corruption in the country, poor work ethics leading to low productivity, craving for wealth, serious sanitation problems, degradation of the environment, and the breakdown of the family unit.
“Attitudes are formed through experience or upbringing, and have a powerful influence over behaviour and so an attitudinal change will require us to go back, to relearn and live our values,” he argued.
A section of the graduating students at the ceremony
“Every society has its own set of values, covering every aspect of human endeavour and they are the guiding principles, regulating roles in human relationship and also stabilizing factors of the society,” he continued.
Reflecting on the past, Rev. Prof Adow Obeng said the traditional authority and the community played their role in instilling values of hospitality, chastity before marriage, truth, covenant keeping, sense of community, sense of good human relations, and respect for authority and the elders, sense of religiosity, sense of extended family.
Moreover, the community had practices and activities that kept the environment very clean. These values helped to maintain social cohesion and the smooth running of the community.
“Sometime, and somewhere in our history, the darkness enveloped us and the rain began to beat us, as our values began to be gradually eroded. With increasing absentee parents, divorce, and infidelity, the family unit is breaking down and gradually losing its mandate to inculcate values in children,” he regretted.
He further stated that the Schools have undergone so many educational reforms that inculcation of values into students in schools has been gradually buried under the rubble of these reforms.
Rev. Prof. Adow Obeng believes it would require a collective effort of all to pull the country back to moral sanity.
He said the Presbyterian University College, Ghana will continue to play its part by training the head, hands and heart of students to prepare them academically and also inculcate into them the values of Excellence, Discipline, Commitment, Integrity and Faith in God.
To the Graduating Students
The President congratulated them for the successful completion of their programmes of study and reminded them, “That the training you have received from PUCG is holistic and you are therefore reminded to portray the values instilled in you.”
Admonishing them from Roy T. Bennett quote “Your values create your internal compass that can navigate how you make decisions in your life. If you compromise your core values, you go nowhere,” Rev. Prof. Adow Obeng said “Never let the influence of the modern world affect your values.”
Presbyterian Church of Ghana Support
The President of PUCG, Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Adow Obeng thanked the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for the donation of GH₵250,000 to the University last month in addition to GH₵500,000 received last year.