Prof E. Kingsley Larbi

His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana
Chancellor of the Regent University College
Her Ladyship, Mrs Georgina Wood (Chief Justice of the
Republic of Ghana)
Hon Ministers of State
Vice Chancellor and other colleagues from KNUST
Members of the Regent University Council
Hon Members of Parliament
Hardworking Faculty Members and Support Staff
Premier Graduands
Nananom, Nii Me Naa Me
Students
Invited Guests
Distinguished Ladies & Gentlemen

On 24 May 2003, Your Excellency, you set aside your busy schedule to attend the first graduation ceremony of an institution of which I was its founding President. As if by Divine orchestration, you have been very gracious to us again to set aside your various commitments to be our Distinguished Guest Speaker for the first graduation ceremony of this institution which holds much promise for our dear country. We are very grateful to you for your kindness. By your acts and commitments, you have demonstrated your firm belief that the private sector is indeed the engine of growth.

Your Excellency, as Ghana, and for that matter Africa, searches  for answers to her developmental challenges, all stakeholders have a duty to make significant contributions to enable Ghana gain a 21st century push in its social dream and economic development. 

Our collective challenge as a developing nation is therefore to reinforce our human and institutional capabilities, so that all sectors, firms and individuals can acquire, adapt, and use knowledge effectively in order to position our nation, and indeed our continent strategically, in the mainstream within the global economy.  In this crusade,  Ghana's higher educational sector has a duty to make significant contributions to help move the country’s social dream and economic development agenda forward.  It is our conviction that it is imperative for our higher institutions of learning  to become the nation's pace-setter in innovation, and a major player in capacity building. In this crusade, the need to strengthen Ghana's science, engineering and technology capacity cannot be over emphasised.

The Regent University College of Science and Technology, the first Ghanaian private university venturing into science and technology education, is playing a leading role in this regard by preparing graduates who will rise to the scientific challenges of the 21st century, to help offer new insights into the seemingly intractable developmental challenges confronting our nation, and our continent.

Your Excellency, about 10 years ago some academics argued strongly that instead of religious bodies and other stakeholders putting money into the establishment of private universities, the money should rather be given to the public universities so that they could expand and increase their enrolment levels. Today, that question has become obsolete when we consider the number of private universities that operate in this country and the contributions of most of them to national development.

Today, the question that occupies the minds of most people is not whether or not the private universities are necessary, but a more constructive question as to the form these emergent institutions will take.

Your Excellency, even in countries like the Philippines where university enrolment level is very high, the private sector provides about 80%. It is my conviction therefore that when these private institutions are adequately  resourced and carefully monitored by all stakeholders, they will continue to play a very important role in the development of this nation. 

At this juncture, your Excellency, the private sector is very dynamic. Please allow me to mention some few areas that the private universities have already made their mark.

1. The introduction of worker-friendly programmes. Until  the emergence of the private universities, there was no opportunity for full time workers to combine full time work with academic work. Now through the initiative of private universities in this area, the dynamics have changed. Now full time workers can give themselves quality education without sacrificing their work. This noble initiative is a hope to a lot of people including working mothers. Through this initiative various categories of people ranging from high ranking army and police officers, to ministers of state, working mothers and ordinary workers have been able to upgrade their knowledge.

2. The first ever master’s level studies in computer science was first introduced by the Regent University College.

3. The first ever Master of Business Administration programme with an international AMBA accreditation status to be taught in Ghana was introduced by the Regent University College.

4. The emergence of the private universities have also created employment opportunities to a lot of people. For example as at January 2005 Regent University College had 24 employees. By December 2005 the number had gone up to 46. As at December 2006 the number had reached 94. Between December 2006 and December 2007, the number of full time workers had reached 155. Our total number of full time  employees is now 164. Most of our lecturers  join us after further studies abroad. Job opportunities have been created for the unemployed and the underemployed. Hope has returned to many families through the job creation efforts of the private universities.

Your Excellency, our scholarship grants have brought hope to some indigent families. Please allow me to mention a particular case just for an illustration.  We decided to employ a young man who wanted to educate himself but did not have the money. We gave him 50% tuition rebate.  Now this young man is supporting his brothers in school. He is also providing financial support to his parents who are both indigent. One of the brothers that  this young man supported has completed his Senior Secondary School with very good results. He is waiting to enter one of the universities in the country in this academic year. Meanwhile, he has been given a job by us. There are several other interesting stories. So far we have given more than I billion cedis (or 100,000 Ghana cedis) worth of scholarships.  We make conscious efforts to assist those who are qualified but are unable to pay our modest fees.

Your Excellency, there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not the GETFund Law should  be amended so that the private universities could be assisted from the funds. Recently a public figure at a function of this nature in reference to this subject matter  indicated that since some of the private universities in Ghana were established by individuals the question of the amendment of the GETFund Law to make room for private universities to be assisted from it does not arise. The impression created was that unlike the private universities established religious bodies which are not-for-profit, those established by individuals are for profit.

Your Excellency, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen: A close examination of all the private universities operating in the country at the moment, so far as I am aware, will reveal that almost all of them have been established as companies limited by guarantee, doing their best out of limited resources, to break new grounds and to push the agenda of development forward. There is also a general impression that the private universities charge high fees. Actually this is not the case. The fees charged by the private universities are highly subsidised. If we compare the level of fee paid by the fee-paying students at the public universities, they are higher, with the exception of one particular institution, than what all the private universities are charging for the various courses they are offering.

Your Excellency, we would therefore want to strongly indicate that, judging from the contributions that most of the established private universities have made and continue to make towards the national development agenda, it will indeed be in the national interest that they are given all the necessary support they need to enable them to continue to play a critical role in the nation’s development.  

Your Excellency, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen: today, in addition to the  awarding of various degrees to premier graduands of this institution, we are  also conferring upon Dr. Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu, an internationally acclaimed space scientist and engineer, who is currently working as the Senior Robotics Engineer and Technical Group Leader, at NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, USA.

The accomplishment of Dr. Ashitey, like many other Africans in the Diaspora,  reminds us  of one inescapable truth: That God created all men equal; and that what separates the high achiever from the low achiever and a failure, is what all of us do with our God given potential, the support we receive in developing this potential, and the environment within which  we grow. Dr. Ashitey’s achievement reminds us that we as Ghanaians or Africans, have the capacity to overcome the debilitating conditions of poverty, ignorance, disease, and environmental degradation.

We as a people have the capacity to work with the rest of the continent to develop Africa and to harness the potential of its people to gain a respectable and dignified place in the mainstream of the human community. That is where we belong. And that is what we must work towards. It is within our grasp!   Our salvation is in our hands.

Now, allow me to address our Distinguished premier Graduands. The journey has been long, and sometimes tortuous. All of you have different stories to tell. Some of you, unfortunately, did not receive the required support from your employers; some had to struggle to raise the required money for your fees; working mothers have had to combine family demands, tight work schedules, and studies. Whatever be your individual experiences, you can today say that: “At long last, the battle has ended.” Congratulations! You can celebrate your success. But let me remind you: You still have a world to conquer. The greater portion of your potential is still untapped. You have the responsibility to affect your world.  Until you see the poverty, filth, ignorance, and the environmental degradation around you become a thing of the past, give yourself no rest!

 Keep upgrading your knowledge; the knowledge you have acquired so far is just the beginning.  Remember, Knowledge is Power. Keep on improving yourself and one day you will eat with KINGS AND PRESIDENTS. To this end, we are happy to offer all our premier graduates who qualify to read our Regent-MSM MBA, a grant of $2500.  This offer expires at 31st August, 2008.

Honour God and submit to his will in all you do; have a vision for life; develop discomfort for the status quo. Cultivate industry/hardwork, perseverance, courage, discipline; render good and selfless service to your motherland and all those you come in contact with and do need your service.
 
Allow me to remind you of the prophetic statement made by His Excellency, President Kufuor at the Ghana at 50 anniversary speech:

“The future of this continent is yours, it is your heritage and you must stay and be part of building the well-governed, economically vibrant nations we all aspire to.”  

Believe that you can prosper in your own country. God has planted you here in Ghana to prosper you as you walk in obedience to his will.

CONCLUSION
Your Excellency, you have done a lot for this nation. Your leadership has brought about peace and stability. Your international diplomacy has put Ghana at the centre stage in world affairs. You have laid a very good foundation for the economy. It is our prayer that our good Lord will continue to give you the needed grace so that you can finish hard and finish well.  Your Excellency,  distinguished ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for honouring our  invitation. You have made our day! May our good LORD
Bless our homeland Ghana.  And make our nation great and strong, Bold to defend for ever the cause of Freedom and of Right. May God fill our hearts with true humility. May he make us cherish fearless honesty; May he help us to resist the oppressor’s rule with all our might for evermore.