The Garden City University College has challenged Private Universities to think innovatively in leveraging the bright side of blended learning occasioned by the COVID 19 pandemic, to expand their frontiers.
The President of the University Professor Edward Kwame Asante, gave the charge when the school held a short virtual ceremony to matriculate a thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight (1888) freshmen into the Business School, the faculty of applied sciences, the faculty of humanities and education, the faculty of health sciences and the Centre for Open Distance and E-Learning.
He pointed out that the young university was looking towards enhancing its virtual platforms to move beyond its Kenyase base in the Ashanti Region, to serve students in the Northern Regional Capital of Tamale; Wa in the Upper West Region as well as the Western Regional Capital, Takoradi.
Prof Asante advised, “Just as George Bernard Shaw once said “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything”. Now is the time to embrace these changes and work towards re-engineering higher education towards a digitalized world post Covid19. I urge all staff and students of the University College to work together to realize this new normal.”
He was confident despite the challenges on the Private University landscape, the Garden City University College still had bright prospects as the school continues to increase its intake year on year.
“In the 2019 – 2020 academic year we matriculated a thousand and fourteen and now we have a thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight. This is a giant leap that cannot be attributed to the double-track Free SHS because we have less than a hundred students from the free SHS program,” he explained.
Prof Asante challenged the students to complement their education pursuits in the classroom with a habit of “learning new things, adjusting to new surroundings, creating networks and forging bonds.”
He however cautioned students to obey their moral obligations to the University as it accords students their full benefits as bona fide members of the College.
Ivan Heathcote – Fumador