By Kodjo Adams
Accra, Oct. 6, GNA- Professor Nicholas N.N Nsowah-Nuamah, Chairman, Council for Independent Universities, has encouraged private universities to work hard to meet the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission’s (GTEC) criteria for a Presidential Charter.
That, he said, would enable the private universities to award their own degrees and diplomas after being mentored by a public university.
The Government merged the National Council for Tertiary Education and the National Accreditation Board under the new Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023) to form the GTEC in August 2020.
Following the creation of the GTEC, under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023), it is no longer mandatory for new tertiary education institutions to go into affiliation arrangements with existing chartered institutions to be accredited.
As part of the new transitional arrangements for the granting of a Charter, all existing University Colleges have been given up until the end of 2024 to demonstrate their capability and readiness for a Charter, by meeting the prescribed conditions.
The Act states that, if an affiliated institution is unable to meet the requirements for a Charter within the specified four-year period, but demonstrates sufficient cause for preparing for a Charter, an additional two years may be given by GTEC to the institution to enable that institution to meet the requirements for Charter.
President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, August 30, 2022, awarded Presidential Charters to Methodist University College, Presbyterian University College, and Catholic University College. This means they have transitioned into autonomous Universities, with the capacity, now, to award their own degrees and diplomas.
Prof Nsowah-Nuamah, in an interview on the sidelines of a workshop on quality assurance for private Universities, urged founders and management of private Universities to make funds available to meet the charter requirements.
He said GTEC organised a workshop in Koforidua for private universities to take them through the charter system, adding that “today’s meeting was to assess members’ preparedness in meeting the criteria for a Charter.”
“We have asked members to prepare the self-assessment document indicating their strengths and weaknesses and find ways to address the gaps,” he said.
The Professor said the participants were taken through topics like conceptualizing quality and quality assurance in tertiary education, charter policy dimension and regulatory framework, among others.
Prof Albert Addo-Quaye, President of Kings University College, said over the years, admission into private universities had reduced which had affected their revenue strength, making it difficult to pay for the institutional affiliation fees.
The workshop, Prof Addo-Quaye stressed, was timely and would enable participants to know how to prepare for the Presidential Charter.
Mr Anthony Kwame Archiabah, Computer Engineer, said he had manufactured a software application dubbed “Performance Machine” to provide security in education, transport, cyber and other sectors.
GNA