Professor Denis Worlanyo Aheto has been inducted into office as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) for a four-year term, with a call on African universities to prioritise practical skills over rote learning.
The Chancellor of UCC, Sir Sam Jonah, who made the call at the investiture ceremony held here on Saturday, said the traditional role of universities as repositories of knowledge must evolve in response to technological advancement.
He noted that students now had instant access to information through smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) tools, making it necessary for institutions to focus on developing practical capabilities.
“The future cannot be imported as a finished product. We must write it ourselves,” he said.
Sir Sam Jonah explained that since machines could process and deliver factual answers faster than humans, universities must train students to perform tasks that machines cannot do.
According to him, academic degrees should reflect the ability to solve real problems, build solutions and demonstrate competence in practical environments.
He therefore proposed the establishment of a faculty of vocational education at UCC to combine academic rigour with hands-on skills development.
Such a faculty, he said, should cover areas such as agriculture, coastal enterprise, construction, food systems, creative industries and human-AI collaboration.
He added that programmes should be designed in collaboration with industry, with students assessed based on performance in real work environments rather than solely through examinations.
Addressing concerns about so-called “useless degrees,” Sir Sam Jonah said the problem lay not in the programmes themselves but in their disconnection from practical application.
“It is our job to reunite them,” he stated, criticising curricula that emphasise memorisation without equipping students with usable skills.
He also proposed the creation of an AI club focused on innovation, mentorship programmes involving African professionals in the diaspora, and a project-based curriculum centred on real-world outcomes.
Sir Sam Jonah stressed that universities should teach students to apply knowledge to model real-life situations, such as predicting crop yields or economic trends, rather than simply learning to code.
In his address, Prof. Aheto outlined his vision for the university, anchored on five strategic pillars under the Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic Focus (VCSF).
These include sustainable financing and resource mobilisation, strengthened governance systems, staff welfare and development, and the promotion of research excellence.
He also emphasised his commitment to diversity, equity, gender inclusion and environmental sustainability, in line with the UCC Corporate Strategic Plan.
Prof. Aheto announced the introduction of a staff retirement savings initiative to enhance long-term financial security for employees.
The scheme, he explained, would complement existing statutory benefits by allowing staff to make regular contributions towards retirement.
He further announced the rollout of the UCC eCampus platform, which will make selected postgraduate programmes accessible to professionals in Ghana and beyond.
Accreditation for the programmes has been granted by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), covering MBA, MSc, DBA and PhD programmes in fields such as business management, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, finance and healthcare management.
Picture: Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto (middle) being inducted into office as Vice Chancellor of UCC
Picture 2: Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto (holding the symbol of authority) after the investiture
FROM DAVID O. YARBOI-TETTEH, CAPE COAST
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