He noted that government has the "political will" to ensure that institutions make significant progress.
He hoped Regent Ghana would "continue to emphasize technology application to solving both national and local challenges as the university's vision clearly spells out".
Prof. Oquaye continued, "Until now, all the IT experts with Master's Degrees in computing and allied courses have had to study overseas because none of our universities in the country offer postgraduate studies in computing."
He noted that as far as technological development was concerned, the vision of our universities in Ghana should not be limited to catching up with other universities in the developed world, which he said would "not help us bridge the technological gap between them and us since time is not on our side".
He was of the conviction that local expertise that could adapt IT solutions to meet local requirements and demands should be nurtured here in the country.
The Minister noted also that the bold step by Regent University in a few years time should find "some imaginative as well as industrious graduates from the institution, both only offering creative IT solutions in our companies and industries, and teaching in our tertiary institutions".
"It is my hope and prayer that this country will soon be using IT as a vehicle to attain transparency in administration at all levels," he said, adding that e-Governance was expected to help improve the processing of some transactions both within the government and among government agencies.
Additionally, the partnership between Regent and Deggendorf would therefore enhance the employment potential of Regent Ghana products in the field of engineering across the globe since "companies, big and small, are looking not only for customers but also for skilled labour across the nation as well as overseas".
During the inauguration, the President of Regent University, Prof. E. Kingsley Larbi, also hinted that the first-ever postgraduate level studies in Computer Science therefore moves the agenda of the inability to move beyond the first degree level, apart from declarations of statement of intent, forward from realm of deliberations and declarations to the field of implementation.
In continuation, he said the higher education sector would have to be the nation's pacesetter in innovation and a major player in capacity building, as its duty to make significant contributions to enable Ghana and Africa as a whole gain a 21st century push in its social dream plus economic development.
Furthermore, he stated "challenges that we are unable to constructively engage or solve today, will continue to remain as outstanding liabilities for us and for future generations".
He therefore, cautioned that "we as a people, should be careful, not to be preoccupied by our little achievements", emphasizing, a nation that prides itself in her little achievements unmindful of the global task, stand the danger of being perpetually left behind by the rest of humanity.
The Chief Executive Officer added that as preparations are being made to celebrate Ghana's Golden Jubilee anniversary next year, "we should be mindful of the several schools in our nation that are without the requisite infrastructure; we should remember the numerous village schools without teachers; we should not forget our children who are studying under trees with no or inadequate text books; we should remember our numerous children who because of ill preparation and other factors are unable to move beyond the BECE examinations; we should think of the human potentials that are being wasted because of poverty".
The premier students, he announced, had the rare opportunity to be part of "our premier Master of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology programme and would have access to excellent facilities in Ghana and in Germany.
The aim of putting together "this arrangement is to effect technology transfer so that at the end of the day, you can use your training and exposure to initiate changes that will move the agenda of development of our nation and our continent forward".
Prof. Larbi however called on government to assist the institution with minibuses, as part of "the other institutions that were left out in the distribution are given their share of the national cake".
Autor(en)/Author(s): Nathaniel Yankson
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 28.09.2006
