The Christian Service University College has successfully organized its 47th congregation for the 2022/23 academic year under the theme: “Christian Higher Education in Ghana: Past, Present and Future” on Saturday, February 24, 2024. The congregation also coincided with the ongoing CSUC @ 50 celebrations. In all, a total of 438 graduands were awarded degrees, diplomas, and certificates.
President’s Address to Congregation
T
he President, Prof. Sam Afrane presented his report for the 2022/23 academic year to the 47th Congregation. The comprehensive and insightful report covered ten thematic areas including statistics on the graduating class of 2024, research and publication, teaching and learning, new academic programmes, admissions, and student population, student hostel accommodation, current and future infrastructure developments, an update on Presidential Charter and the CSUC @ 50 celebrations. The president concluded his address with a special admonition to the graduands to brace all odds to brighten their corners of endeavour to transform society in line with the institution’s mission (please click on this link to read the comprehensive report).
Guest Speaker’s Address
Speaking on the theme, “Christian Higher Education in Ghana: Past, Present and Future”, Prof. Jerry Samuel Yaw Kuma, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) congratulated the Council, Management and the entire university for their impactful Christian education over the last 50 years. To do justice to the theme, Prof. Kuma traced Ghana’s higher education trajectory from pre-independence through post-independence to arrive at Ghana’s current tertiary education landscape to observe that Christian missionaries have been instrumental in institutionalizing formal education. He revealed that by the mid-1950s, “the British colonial administration and Christian missions had established approximately 3,000 primary, middle and secondary schools in addition to some training colleges”.
He further alluded to the constitutional framework that meant to increase literacy in Ghana and cited Articles 25(1) and 25(2) of the 1992 constitution to argue out two key related provisions such as right to equal educational opportunities of the citizenry and the right to establish and maintain private schools at all levels. He extensively discussed the major educational reforms that have sought to address the “manpower needs of the country” throughout Ghana’s history noting that each of them has contributed innocuously to the educational paradigm we see today.
Even though private universities have played crucial roles in consolidating intellectual and industrial gains across all levels, several life-threatening challenges confront private tertiary institutions today. Prof. Kuma highlighted a few of such challenges including: 1) financial, 2) student numbers and 3) recruitment and retention of highly qualified staff. According to him, these challenges have led to the long-standing request for government support and interventions particularly, through GETFund.
On the future of Christian higher education in Ghana, Prof. Kuma linked the total population of Christians in Ghana which currently stands at 70% out of an estimated 30 million to drum home the point that the legacy left behind by our forebears has to be jealously guarded by making Christian educational institutions competitive and relevant to the changing needs of society. He advocated strongly for Christian Tertiary Institutions to maintain Jesus Christ who is the embodiment of wisdom and knowledge as the “Senior partner, Governor, and Lord”.
