The Very Reverend Professor Samuel Kwasi Adjapong, Principal of the Methodist University College of Ghana (MUCG), has expressed concern about a recent directive from the National Accreditation Board for universities to limit their admission of mature students.
According to the directive, public universities are to limit their admission of mature students to a quota of five per cent, while private universities limit to a quota of 20 per cent.
However, the Methodist University College Principal, who doubles as a cleric and educationist, says “this directive runs contrary to the letter and spirit of the educational objectives spelt out in article 38 of our Constitution. It is also not in consonance with the global trend in tertiary education.”
The Very Rev Prof Adjapong made the complaint in an address at the 10th congregation of the University at the week-end at Dansoman in Accra.
He said the directive was not in consonance with global trend in tertiary education explaining that in advanced countries whole universities were established to specifically give a convenient opportunity to large number of both working and non-working adults to have tertiary education.
“I can name the British Open University, the Indira Ghandi University in India, the University of Phoenix in the USA and the Simon Fraser University in Canada.
“A number of our own public universities have Distance Education programmes with student populations more than twice the population of mainstream students, the educationist and principal said.
He explained further that the mode of admission of students to Distance Education programmes was virtually the same as for mature students and that only the mode of delivery was different.
Giving the circumstance in which the universities found themselves, the Principal suggested a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the issues and craft a more comprehensive and definitive policy on tertiary education to guide the operations of the advisory and regulatory bodies as well as the institutions themselves.
He gave the assurance that the Methodist University remained fully committed to co-operate with advisory and regulatory bodies of tertiary education in the country and to the maintenance of the highest quality of delivery of education at the tertiary level.
