Private Universities Could Earn Ghana More Revenue Than Cocoa Or Oil – IMANI Vice President

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Vice president of reputable tink tank group IMANI Ghana, Mr. Kofi Bentil has asserted that private universities have the potential to rake up 35 billion cedis equivalent to $8 billion dollars annually to boost Ghana’s revenue. Mr. Bentil disclosed this during the recent 41st congregation ceremony of Christian Service University College, at Kumasi.
According to the IMANI Vice President, private universities hold the promise of boosting the services sector of Ghana by producing high caliber graduates in specialized fields particularly in the Sciences for export to countries within the West African sub-region and beyond.
“The day we see the light in this, we will dramatically change this nation and forget about oil” Mr. Bentil asserted.
Explaining the assertion, he indicated that Ghana is the most strategically placed and well- endowed economy within the 350 million populated ECOWAS sub-region where youth make up half of this figure. He disclosed that even if five percent of this number are those who go abroad to be educated, private universities could offer quality and competitive courses that could be run at just a fraction of the cost of studying abroad, so these candidates are enabled to study close to home.
Mr. Bentil also revealed that the income generated from this venture, if it is adopted by the stakeholders, could also serve to support the cost of running private universities.
In this light, he called for government support in the form of scholarships, subventions and significant tax cuts to create a conducive environment for the thriving of private universities, most of which are now struggling financially to keep afloat.
In a related development, President of CSUC, Prof. Sam Afrane disclosed that beginning from January 2018, CSUC has started running three new programmes namely, Masters degree in Corporate Planning, Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistantship as well as A Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood degree. He encouraged prospective candidates to enroll for these programmes that would be effortlessly rolled out through the CSUC’s e-learning project.
A total of 363 students were awarded with various postgraduate and undergraduate degrees as well as diplomas and certificates.
Writer’s email: aamankwah@csuc.edu.gh