GCTU holds 1st Graduation as Public University
History was made on Saturday, 27th March, 2021 as the University held its first ever graduation ceremony as a Public University. Since, receiving Presidential assent on the Bill which confirmed the University’s public status, this landmark event represented an important milestone in the institution’s history to date.
Once again, due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying restrictions, the event was held virtually, again affirming the University’s commitment to its mandate of promoting technology and innovation. This special event saw a total of 199 graduands, comprising 15 PhDs and 184 Masters candidates. As a result of the restrictions, only the PhD graduates were physically present at the event, with the remaining 184 watching live on the GCTU website, as well as the University’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Along with staff and management of the University, the Congregation was attended by some Council members, with Dr. Samuel Awuku, representing the Ag. Council Chairman, Hon. Frederick Opare Ansah, who could not attend the event. The Guest speaker for the programme was Prof. Mohammed Salifu, the current Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) chair and he gave an incredibly informative, candid and inspiring address on the theme, “Transition to Public University status: Understanding the policy and practical implications”.
During his address, Prof. Salifu emphasized the need for the University to fully understand the weight of expectation that the transition to public status would bring on the University, he spoke of the high standards that the University is expected to uphold and alluded to the fact that the institution was in a prime position to succeed, particularly due to the University’s unique mandate.
The Congregation was also addressed by the newly confirmed GCTU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa, who gave his traditional update on the University’s status. Prof. Afoakwa encouraged the graduands in his address, urging them to never give up in the face of adversity and seek continuous improvement and making reference to the University’s crest, saying “the need for constant knowledge acquisition is an essential ingredient of education”
He closed his address by thanking the staff at GCTU for their continuous and fervent efforts in ensuring that the University continues to progress and achieve its goals.
The Overall Best Student for this graduation was Mr. Kwabena Ampong Kutin-Buah, a Coventry University Master’s student and in his address to his fellow graduands he paid homage to the efforts of lecturers, staff and management alike for maintaining the high standards that accompany Graduate education at GCTU. He also gave a tribute to the various support systems, including spouses, parents and children, as they encouraged and motivated the graduands to realize such an important achievement.
Overall, the event proved to be a successful one and we are delighted to have made history in holding our first graduation as a public institution, we hope that this is indeed the first of many successes in our new journey. We congratulate our various Graduates on their outstanding achievements.
