EDUCATION AND INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP KEY

17/03/08
THE need for a mutually beneficial relationship between universities and industry was emphasised by the Minister of Education, Science and Sports at the weekend at the congregation of the University of Ghana, Legon.
The call by the minister to many, may not have come as a surprise as that is a concern that has been raised every now and then.
Traditionally, the universities have been looked up to as key partners in the quest to empower the country economically and politically. Thus, industry also looks up to the universities not only for a significant portion of their human resource base but also research findings on how they can improve on their products and services.
For a long time, such calls appear to have gone unheeded especially by our traditional universities. There has always been the rebuff that universities don’t exist for industry alone.
But, clearly, the immense benefits industry and universities can derive from each other cannot be ignored and the need for a mutually beneficial relationship becomes even more imperative as the job market gets more competitive in the wake of the mushrooming of private universities in all corners of the country.
Many parents and individuals have been compelled to invest huge sums of money to get university education for their children and themselves and at the end of the day they must be able to reap the benefits of university education.
While it is important to ensure that universities, whether public or private, are delivering quality education it is equally critical to encourage the universities to provide courses and programmes that will promote the growth of industry and ultimately help improve the growth of the Ghanaian economy.
Academia stands to gain from investments made by industry for research into industrial activities and the flow of such investments can only be steady when the industries can benefit adequately from the human resources provided by our universities.
University authorities must also bear in mind that students are becoming increasingly aware of the demands of the job market and will stop at nothing to ensure that they position themselves well to make the best of what the job markets offer.
Hence, the attraction of universities to students, parents and guardians in the near future may to a large extent depend on the courses they offer and how relevant they are to industry.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that the issue must not only rest with the university authorities and captains of industry but also the government, which is a major beneficiary of the growth of industry and our universities.
The government must play a key role in fostering such collaboration and that should involve the Ministries of Education, Science and Sports as well as the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment.
The DAILY GRAPHIC also wishes to encourage the pursuance of an effective industrial attachment programme that will seek to equip students with the necessary industrial exposure and make them more beneficial to industry after they graduate from our universities.
Beyond such attachments, there could also be a forum for university teachers and captains of industry to discuss issues of common interest pertaining to the growth of industry and universities and how they can explore mutually beneficial relationships.
We believe that this is the way to go as we confront a new economic era where competition is very keen and globalisation places premium on excellence in the delivery of tertiary education.