Professor Joshua Alabi, the outgoing Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), has appealed to the Government for clearance to recruit more administrative staff to meet the demand of the fast expanding University.
Prof Alabi made the appeal over the weekend in Accra at the 2016/2017 Academic Year matriculation, at which 3,216 students were admitted into the University.
[contextly_sidebar id=”1nTWsHyr9DOpZIHEAgU0RMcN1qOZ0kMG”]The figure represents 46.25 per cent of the 6,954 applications received by the University. At the Diploma level, 592 students were admitted, while undergraduates were 1,942; postgraduate students were 596, and professional level-79.
Prof Alabi said the student population had increased over the past years, as a result of the growing demand for university education.
“This has led to the need to recruit more lecturers,” he stated.
He, therefore, lauded the Government for granting the UPSA the clearance to recruit 118 additional lecturers to augment its academic staff strength.
He said two new programmes – Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Science Actuarial Science – had been added to the University’s programmes portfolio this academic year.
He stated that other programmes such as the PhD Leadership and PhD Marketing were at different levels of the accreditation process and they would soon be rolled out when the required processes were completed.
The Vice Chancellor announced that the UPSA Council had given approval for the acquisition of 100 plots of land at Oyibi, near Accra, for the construction of staff bungalows.
“This initiative is within the context of Management’s desire to motivate staff of the University, who have worked very hard over the past years to improve conditions at the University, and also to continue to give of their best, ” he said.
He said one facility that the University was lacking was a big auditorium, stating that, “Thankfully this year, work is on-going on the construction of an auditorium with a seating capacity of 3,000.”
He said work had also started on the construction of a Students’ Centre, which when completed, would house shops, food courts and meeting rooms.
Prof Alabi commended the students and staff for their impressive support during his tenure as a Vice Chancellor, and urged them to do same for his successor.
To the Matriculants, the Vice Chancellor said: “You have come here mainly to improve yourselves academically. It, therefore, follows that you should develop a very serious approach toward your studies.”
He advised them to develop their creative abilities, aim high and to pursue diligently their loftiest aspirations, so that their education would become all that it ought to be.
–
Source: GNA