The University of Business and Integrated Development Studies Bill, 2018 has gone through the Second Reading after it was presented at the Plenary for the first time.
The Second Reading of the Bill was moved by the Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah, on behalf of the Minister for Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
The University of Business and Integrated Development Studies Bill, 2018 was presented to the House on December 11, 2018, and was subsequently referred to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, for consideration and report.
The Bill seeks to establish the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies as a public tertiary institution in Wa in the Upper West Region, to be an outstanding internationally acclaimed applied research and practical-oriented educational institution, dedicated to the development of business and integrated development studies.
The University of Business and Integrated Development Studies Bill is made up of forty-one clauses and divided into five sections.
In the Education Committee’s report, it was observed that the conversion of the Wa campus of University of Development Studies (UDS) into an autonomous University is aimed at meeting the tertiary educational needs of the people in the Upper West Region and beyond.
The Committee was of the view that proximity to a university in the Region, will stimulate pursuit of tertiary education and enhance the human resource capacities in the Upper West Region.
On the Schools of the University, the Committee observed that the Wa campus of UDS currently has a Faculty of Integrated Development Studies, Faculty of Planning and Land Management, School of Business and a Faulty of Education.
The Committee again indicated that the University shall have School of Law, School of Social Studies, School of Education and Life-Long Learning and School of Information and Communication Technolog.
Reaction from the Minority
The Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, in debating on the motion, indicated that there is the need for tertiary institutions to focus on their mandates.
He pointed out that most of the public universities have shifted away from their core mandates and consequently, inculcating course which are of no relevance to the current needs of the country.
Mr. Iddrisu urged the House to play its oversight role effectively on public universities, to ensure that they deliver on their mandates.
