Renaming of UPSA: Akufo-Addo commends Council

President Akufo-Addo has commended the Governing Council of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, UPSA for its decision, in accordance with the Statutes of the University, to rename the University after founder and first director of the University, Nana J. K. Opoku-Ampomah.

According to President Akufo-Addo, “It is a most excellent decision, which has received the approval of the President of the Republic, so that, once the parliamentary process has been completed, this University will be called thenceforth the Opoku Ampomah University of Professional Studies.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 25th April, 2018, when he delivered the keynote address at events marking the 4th special Congregation ceremony of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA).

The Congregation ceremony, amongst others, also conferred honorary doctorate degrees on Nana J. K. Opoku-Ampomah, founder and first director of the Institute of Professional Studies, and the second, Mr. Ahmad Ahmad, Vice President of FIFA, the world governing body of football, and President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

From relatively small and humble beginnings in 1967, the President stated that UPSA has become one of the most progressive, public institutions of higher learning in Ghana, offering both academic and professional tertiary education qualifications.

He added that after being in existence for 50 years, UPSA has gained the reputation as the oldest, human resource development institution in professional accountancy and management in Ghana, with many of its products in key leadership positions in and out of the country.

“The outstanding work done under the leadership of Nana Opoku-Ampomah, who braved all odds and courageously sowed the biblical mustard seed, deserves special commendation,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo assured that his government remains fully committed to ensuring that all of Ghana’s youth gain access not only to senior high school education, but also to tertiary education, as they represent the best ways of equipping the citizenry with the requisite skills for national development.

“We are aware that adequate funding of higher education has been one of the challenges of successive governments. At the graduate level, this, particularly, has become a topical issue in recent times,” he said.

The President continued, “As part of efforts to deal with the problem of funding higher education, government has committed itself to the establishment of a research fund for the sole purpose of funding relevant and sector-specific research work in our institutions of higher learning. This is in addition to the Book and Research Allowance.”

Government, the President assured, will continue to support tertiary institution-industry collaborative programmes to increase opportunities for practical training and internship.

“We shall promote curriculum development to meet the skills and human resource demands of industry, create opportunities for work and study, and make training in entrepreneurship a cardinal component of the school system,” he added.

Towards establishing the enactment of a law to establish a unified Commission for Tertiary Education to deal with policy formulation, implementation and accreditation, the President revealed that the Ministry of Education will shortly begin implementing recommendations that will reform university accreditation and affiliation policies in order to introduce equity and fairness in the establishment of public and private universities.

He commended the Council and Management of the University of Professional Studies for placing emphasis on courses relevant to the needs of the Ghanaian economy, particularly, in the areas of management sciences, accountancy, marketing, banking and finance, communications, information technology, law and other related social sciences.

“The establishment of the endowment fund to help the needy, but brilliant students is also in the right direction. Government, and the Ministry of Education, under its dynamic Minister, Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, will continue to support you as much as the state of our public finances permit,” he said.

About the Founder, Nana Opoku Ampomah

Nana Opoku Ampomah, who’s currently the Paramount Chief of Amoafo-Bekwai in the Ashanti Region, started the school as a private individual, but it was taken from him and given to the state in 1978.
For years, he has been resisting what he considers an attempt by the University to erase his memory, after his statue in the school was pulled down.

In 2013, after he accused then Vice Chancellor Professor Joshua Alabi of working to erase his contribution to the school, Prof. Alabi issued a statement to deny his claims, saying the school considered him as pivotal to their success.

Prof. Alabi went ahead to promise that his statue would be reconstructed, but that never happened.
“It is our belief that the nation must continue to honour visionary people like Nana Ampomah, as well as others who have been founding fathers of prominent institutions, including Mr. J. H. Mensah who founded the Saint John Grammar School, and Mr. Quay Nungua, founder of the Nungua Secondary School. Therefore, we are reassuring our Founder, Nana Opoku Ampomah that his role and legacy is an indelible part of the history and success story of our fast expanding university” the school’s statement said.

Also in 2016, Professor Joshua Alabi together with the Founder, Nana Opoku Ampomah, were honoured at UPSA Alumni Association Dinner and Awards among 10 other personalities. The Association conferred on Prof. Alabi the ‘Platinum Man of the Year’ while Nana Ampomah received the “Founder’s Gold’ award.