THE Islamic University College, Ghana on Saturday held its 15th graduation ceremony for 212 students who completed their courses last year.
The students comprising 108 males and 104 females were presented with certificates in Business Administration, Communication Studies and Religious Studies.
The occasion which coincided with the Matriculation of 350 fresh students was on the theme: “Quality and Accessibility: Taking private tertiary education to new levels, the IUCC example.”
The president of the University College, Dr Mohsen Maarefi, in his address urged the government to create a fund to support private universities.
He said the situation where private universities saw themselves as purely business entities could be a thing of the past if a fund was created for them to support those who could not afford the fees.
“Tertiary education is very expensive and in order not to compromise on quality the commercial and private outlook of most of these universities must be eliminated, through the implementation of cost effective services to the people,” he added.
Dr Maarefi indicated that though it was the duty of the government to regulate the sector and ensure the desired imparts were felt, it also had the duty to offer support especially to the needy to create more accessibility.
The president indicated that some hazards regarding quality and access faced by private universities could be addressed if stakeholders including charity foundations, philanthropists and alumni contributed handsomely to the proposed fund to enable the institutions achieve their lofty goals.
The University, Dr Maarefi, explained was poised to increase accessibility by the introduction of new scholarship packages as well as provide discount on the tuition fees for brilliant but needy students.
He assured of strengthening the academic staff to meet the requirement that teaching staff of tertiary institutions must be PhD holders.
The Vice-President for Academic Affairs of the University, Dr Gamel Nasser Adam said the accreditation process for Master of Arts in Islamic Banking and Finance would soon be completed for the programme to begin.
He charged the new students to strike a reasonable balance between leisure and serious academic work to ensure that they made their time efficiently.
“Take three parts of your own effort, mix them with one part of the opportunity offered at IUCC, garnish this with efficient time management and self-discipline, then shake it well and roast for four years in the oven at robust determination and leave the rest to Allah,” he urged.
Dr Adam, urged the graduating class to use the skills acquired at the university for the benefit of mankind.
The Minister of Zongo and Inner City Development, Dr Mustapha Hamid, charged them to be humble in all their activities, because in the journey of life they were bound to meet a lot of people, hence the need to uphold integrity every where they found themselves.
He urged them not to sit on the fence but use their expertise and be part of the development process and support the government to implement its planned programmes and policies.
By Lawrence Vomafa-Akpalu
