Pro-Vice Chancellor calls for independent governing councils
Professor Emmanuel N. Abakah, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, has admonished founders of higher institutions of learning to avoid the tendency of trying to influence the decisions of their governing councils.
He said the practice of influencing governing councils tended to undermine the independence of council members to take strategic decisions for the development of the institutions.
Prof Abakah, who is also the Chairman of the Governing Council of the College, was speaking during the inauguration of the 2nd Governing Council of the Advanced Business College at North Kaneshie in Accra.
He told members to often exercise objectivity and stand firm when discharging their responsibilities.
He said when governing councils allowed themselves to be influenced, that marked the beginning of their failure and subsequent retardation of the growth of their institutions.
The governing council members who will serve for two years were formally inducted into office by the Superintendent Minister of the Mamprobi South Circuit of the Methodist Church Ghana, Very Rev Richardson Aboagye Andam.
The members include Mr Ebenezer K. Ampiah, President and Founder of the Advanced Business College, Professor Lawrence A. Boadi, a Linguistics Professor and Principal of Advanced Business College, Mrs Petrina E. Ampiah Vice Principal, Mr George Amissah, a Legal Practitioner, Mr. Emmanuel Kojo Arhin, Computer Scientist, and Mr. Franklin Owusu Asafo-Adjei, a Financial Consultant.
The Advanced Business College, which is affiliated to the University of Education, will have a representative of the University on the Governing Council.
Professor Abakah noted that the Governing Council would work assiduously to take strategic decisions to ensure that he changes the face of the College to meet the demands of the 21st century institution.
“…If the council is dead, the institution is dead, because the council will not be functional. We will try to guard against any influence from the President though he is a member“, Professor Abakah said.
He pledged the Governing Council’s commitment to exercise objectivity when dealing with any proposal regarding the College.
Mr Ebenezer K. Ampiah, President of the Advanced Business College told the Council to take the right decision at the right time to help to make the College an institution of choice.
He expressed happiness that members of the Governing Council were assuming duty at a time that the National Accreditation Board (NAB) had renewed the College’s accreditation for the next five years.
According to Mr. Ampiah, this obviously placed a huge responsibility on the management of the College, the staff and students to strive to sustain the standard which made it possible for the NAB to renew their institutional and programmes accreditation.
He said management of the Advanced Business College did not want the institution to be seen as another College in the country churning out graduates in their numbers where quality and ethical values were compromised.
He stated that the overall goal of the Advanced Business College was to offer quality education, which would compel industry players to be eager to engage our students.
“Our motivation is to provide that kind of education so that our products can lead the crusade of upholding and adhering to ethical values at their various work places, whether in private or public enterprises.
“This will be our contribution to help change the current mind set where people just want to make money and are not bothered about the sources of that money.
“I want us to produce students who care a lot about how, where and when they make every pesewa. This can only materialise when students are made to appreciate ethical values in all their endeavours whether in private or public business.”
Source: GNA