Train market-driven graduates — Ayariga

 
The Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mr Mahama Ayariga, has urged tertiary institutions in the country to train their graduates to be market-driven.

He said there was the need for tertiary institutions to restructure their programmes to meet the current market demands.

Mr Ayariga stated that at the maiden GIMPA Association Annual Alumni Day Lecture on the theme: “Tertiary Education and its impact on nation's economy.”

Globalisation
He said in training graduates, the universities needed to bear in mind that “in today's globalised world, we are not just training for our economy; we are training for the global economy.”

“The Ghanaian economy perhaps might be a small place in terms of labour market and many of our products are looking elsewhere and indeed, many of them are looking elsewhere if you look at the brain drain and the migrations that are taking place to other economies in order for them to access jobs.” 

Impact of tertiary education
Speaking on the theme, he said there was no doubt that tertiary education had contributed significantly to the economic development of the country, even though there were some challenges.

He also drew attention to the fact that the labour force composition of the private and public sectors had changed and the universities must begin to be more responsive to the needs of the private sector.

Engaging institutions of governance
He tasked universities to engage with the institutions of governance where they found themselves and “use the enormous intellectual capacities that exist within the university setting to drive our governance institutions, be it the regional coordinating councils, municipal and district assemblies and provide them with the kind of support that would increase their efficiency and competence.”

School fees
Contributing to the topic, the Chief Executive Officer of Amsig Resources, Ms Gina Odarteifio, said tertiary education was supposed “to give us skills and knowledge to make an impact wherever we find ourselves.”

On funding tertiary education, the President of the Alumni, Nana Apraku Cobbold, said there was the need for the government to provide sources of funding for those who could not afford to pay for tertiary education, “then it becomes the responsibility of the government to provide them with jobs to work and pay.”