The Chancellor of Presbyterian University, Ghana (PUG), Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante implored the graduating class of 2023 to become the conduit of development noting that “formal education, and for that matter at the tertiary level, is to give your brain the ability to access and process information, apply knowledge, and solve problems with critical thinking skills.”
He said the prognosis of the world’s development is not predicated on the accolades and suffixes that come after names after obtaining academic certificates but that graduates translate their classroom and field experiences into tangible reality.
While conceding that there are challenges facing the country and the world at large, Rt. Rev. Prof. Mante said he believes there are far more opportunities now which the graduates should leverage than it has ever been before.
The Chancellor, Rt. Rev. Prof. Obiri Yeboah Mante delivering his address
The Chancellor addressed the 2023 graduating class who were the first to earn their degrees since PUG transitioned from a University College, to a fully-fledged University.
A total of 557 undergraduates comprising 256 males and 301 females; 59 postgraduates comprising 39 males and 20 females were conferred with degrees at the graduation ceremony.
“Today all graduates are taking their certificates from the Presbyterian University, Ghana, effectively marking the end of mentorship by any University,” the Chancellor disclosed.
The Presbyterian Educational Philosophy
Rt. Rev. Prof. Mante, who is also the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) said the founding mission of the PCG which pioneered formal education, was meant to serve as a platform for developing the whole being.
According to him the focus of PCG education is targeted at the head, the heart, and the hands explaining that the hands are trained for work and skill development, the head for knowledge acquisition, and the hearts for the gospel and morality.
“Our understanding is that one is not educated if the capacities of your head, hands, and heart are not developed in equal measure. To this end, it was intentional that courses that seek to imbibe morality and human values were intentionally added to the courses you read during your studies,” he stated.
A section of the graduands from the School of Graduate Studies
He urged the graduates to be good ambassadors of the University; help the University to recruit more students and use their personal resources to support the University while keeping high the flag of PUG at full mast wherever they find yourselves.
Farewell Message
By the provisions of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, and the Statutes of the Presbyterian University, Ghana, his work as Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG, and the Chancellor of the PUG comes to an end on 30th November, 2023.
Rt. Rev. Prof. Mante said his relationship with the University’s governance started in its nascent years when he served on the first Governing Council as a Member.
He was grateful about the support he had enjoyed from the University’s community and called for the same support for his successor, Rev. Dr. Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye, an astute academic who he said understands perfectly how universities operate.