Legon Pro-Vice Chancellor lauds 68th New Year School

The Pro-Vice Chancellor, Academic and Students Affairs, University of Ghana, has lauded Prof Michael Ayitey Tagoe, Dean, School of Continuing and Distance Education, for the successful organisation of the 68th Annual New Year School and Conference.

Professor Samuel Kwame Offei also hailed the participants and resource persons for their excellent contributions, which went a long way to make this year's New Year School a success.

He noted that recommendations from the New Year School would be forwarded by the University to government for implementation. 

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 68th Annual New Year School and Conference, Prof Offei said: "The University of Ghana will provide the requisite support to the School of Continuing and Distance Education to pursue the issues raised in the communiqué with government, and we are certain that these will play a key part in modernizing the agricultural sector in Ghana.

"There is no doubt that this year`s theme 'Promoting National Development through Agricultural Modernisation: The Role of ICT', has generated a lot of discussions in the media and among Ghanaians," he added.

Prof Offei said agriculture remains the bedrock of Ghana’s economy and plays a crucial role in the structural transformation of the economy. 

"However, for agriculture to create the leverage for Ghana’s development, it must be modernised. As a country we continue to have challenges in Agriculture," he stated.

Prof Offei said the United States had less than three per cent of its population in agriculture and yet produce more than they need and export; he wondered why Ghana had over 70 per cent of its population engaged in agriculture and yet continued to import food.

He said he wondered why Ghana endowed with fertile agricultural lands and good climatic conditions would continue to import tomatoes from Burkina Faso and plantain from the Ivory Coast. 

"As a university that is in the forefront of knowledge creation and the development of human capital, the University of Ghana will foster stronger collaboration with both the public and low adoption of technology private sectors to ensure that training of extension officers is conducted at all levels.

"We will as well collaborate with relevant departments and schools in the University to develop appropriate short-term programmes to be delivered through our e-learning platform for capacity building of various categories of workers and farmers in the country," he added. 

He noted that as a country, we still have a huge Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure deficit in the country. 

"Many villages do not have network coverage, and internet connectivity is still low, causing a digital divide between the urban and rural areas.

"We need to accelerate the deployment of ICT infrastructure to ensure that no one is left behind in the quest to improve the living conditions of Ghanaians."

He urged the participants to endeavour to share the knowledge they have acquired through their participation in the 68th Annual New Year School and Conference with their colleagues who could not attend. 

"I trust that you will form a community of practice and that you will continue to network to sustain the theme to ensure the modernisation and development of the agricultural sector in our dear nation," Prof Offei said.

Prof Tagoe, for his part, said this year‘s School and Conference have been one of the most successful in terms of participation and discussions among both participants and in the media. 

He said the core of resource persons and their depth of knowledge of various aspects of the topics discussed added another dimension to this year’s School. 

He expressed gratitude to the sponsoring organisations and agencies for their contribution towards making this year’s Annual New Year School and Conference a success. 




SOURCE: GNA