The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has expressed worry about how some tertiary institutions have allowed the abrasive political division in the country to permeate their sacred campuses and turned them into battlegrounds for partisan combats instead of havens for imbibing and dispensing knowledge.
He said the partisanship in those tertiary institutions must be reversed to optimise the impact of politics on the nation’s socio-economic advancement.
The Asantehene spoke after the conferment of an honorary doctor of laws degree on him by the University of Cape Coast (UCC) last Thursday.
The Asantehene is among some eminent persons, and is the third traditional ruler to have received such a degree.
Previous recipients included former President John Agyekum Kufuor, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, Paramount Chief of Cape Coast, and Ehunabobrim Prah Agyensaim VI, Paramount Chief of Owirenkyiman Traditional Area.
The well-attended ceremony, which attracted prominent persons from academia, government, traditional authorities and the clergy, was interspersed with traditional performances and music.
The Asantehene said it was, therefore, not surprising that there was hardly any evidence of meaningful collaboration that existed between the state and the universities, leading to socio-economic growth in other jurisdictions, saying the politics on the campuses was hampering effective running of the institutions.
“It is time, in my view, for all of us to wake up to the negative impact this has caused and efforts made to reverse the situation,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu said.
He stressed the need to fashion a new relationship between state and academia that engaged the expertise of academia in the process of policy formulation on a continuous basis.
The Asantehene indicated that while education was expected to produce the critical human resource able to solve societal problems, there seemed to be a disconnect in the educational system and our ability to solve societal problems.
“But if the outcome of education is to produce an army of skilled and able young men and women who cannot find jobs to happily apply their acquired skills, and if continually we are confronted with questions about competencies in management of our resources, how can we respond to anyone who questions the ultimate value we place on education,” he questioned.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu called on academia to reevaluate the education system and help correct any lapses before confidence in education was further eroded, adding that the universities were expected to be storehouses of knowledge and laboratories for research for the solutions to society’s problems.
Source: graphiconline
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