The Church of Pentecost (CoP) in collaboration with the Pentecost University College (PUC) have launched CoP Chairman Education Foundation to support needy students to meet the financial demands that come with tertiary education at PUC.
The Foundation is expected to establish a sustainable endowment fund for the University to assist in raising funds to make the PUC affordable for needy students as well as help in expanding the infrastructure of the University.
The Foundation is targeting two million individuals and corporate organisations who could make monthly and annual donations of any amount to help reach GHC25million to meet the current commitment of the University.
Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye, the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, launching the Foundation at the weekend, said although the PUC already had an existing scholarship scheme for brilliant but needy, underprivileged and other underrepresented groups; the increasing demands for financial support makes the scheme inadequate to cater for all the students.
He said since the introduction of the Free Senior High School policy, the Church had anticipated an increment in University enrolment, knowing that not everyone would be able to access tertiary education in spite of the numerous tertiary education institutions, due to financial constraints.
Apostle Nyamekye urged all generous and well-meaning individuals and organisations to donate towards the sustenance of the Foundation so that many needy students could access quality education in the country.
The Chairman urged all Christians to learn to use worldly riches they were entrusted with, to make friends for the future, by supporting the needy in society.
He said although the grace of God abounded for all Christians, there was the need for Christians to also carefully examine ways of solving problems confronting society.
Professor Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Deputy Education Minister in charge of Basic and Secondary Education, said tertiary education helped in building critical minds that could assist in developing the nation and the continent at large.
He said the country must not relent in the efforts in providing affordable and quality tertiary education for the youth, adding that “if we want to develop this nation and turn the fortunes, we need to grow our gross tertiary education”.
The Minister said Free Education was not about campaign manifesto but a path towards increasing the secondary education ratio of the country to pave way for many young people to access tertiary education.
He urged the PUC to strive to be at the fore front of transformation and lead the efforts to transform Ghana and Africa in the many years ahead, adding that “we want to see a product invented by PUC that makes life easier for humanity”.
He said higher education has a role to play and that higher education when done well, could help transform the nation.
He commended the Church and the University for coming up with the Foundation, because scholarship programmes around the world could be change agents and that the CoP Chairman Education would help in widening access to education.
Mr Maxwell Opoku-Afari, the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, said that the world economy was going through changes with education playing a central role.
He said Africa currently had the highest demographic dividend, with an estimation that by 2050, the Continent would be the highest supplier of labour into the world economy.
He said for the Continent to benefit from the demographic dividend, African leaders must deliberately invest in education towards preparing the youth against the future.
Mr Opoku-Afari said: “We have to invest in education to prepare the youth to integrate into the global economic chain from the top but not from the bottom”.
By Julius K. Satsi, GNA
