President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commended the management of the University of Education, Winneba,(UEW), for being able to harness resources to complete the 2019/2020 academic year, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Nana Addo made the commendation in a speech delivered on his behalf by Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Chief of Staff, at a Special Congregation to award honorary doctorate degrees at Winneba.
Reverend Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, former Speaker of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana and Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister for Energy, were the recipients of the awards, for their outstanding contributions to society.
They were decorated with academic gown and cap, a citation and honoured with Doctor of Letters.
The congregation also saw the commissioning of, six 500 capacity lecture theatres and food court for students and staff , a two-storey lecture theatre, a two-storey ultra-modern students’ center block at the South campus and a five-storey technology block at the central campus of the university.
President Akufo-Addo stated in the address, that the management of the university had shown to the whole world that it was more than capable of finding solutions to challenging situations on campus, saying; ‘no one ever expected this pandemic and for that matter, prepared for it’.
“Be that as it may, when it hit the nation, UEW did not throw its hands in despair, with a can-do spirit they turned things around to overcome the situation.
According to President Nana Akufo-Addo, education was the bedrock of developing human resource, which was the essential ingredient for national development.
In line with Government’s comprehensive agenda to ensure inclusive and accelerated economic development, bold interventions have been introduced in the education sector, he said.
These included expansion of the school feeding programme by 78 percent, restoration of the teachers’ allowances and the absorption of registration fees of BECE and WASSCE candidates.
President Nana Akufo-Addo announced that financial clearance had also been granted for the recruitment of staff to various levels of the education sector, saying, the government was an action-oriented one, and it will always seek the best interest of the nation.
Mrs Osei-Opare was joined by Rev. Prof. Anthony Afful-Broni, Vice-Chancellor of the UEW, and Council Members of the University to commission the projects on behalf of President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The Chief of Staff was accompanied by Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, Central Regional Minister and Central Regional Police Commander, DCOP (Mrs) Habiba Twumasi-Sarpong.