Foreign Universities Rush For Exchange Programmes With Ghana

The Akufo-Addo led New Patriotic Party (NPP) seems to be doing something right with regards to the paradigm shift it has introduced into Ghana’s educational system which has attracted many foreign Universities who have expressed interest to have cultural and educational exchanges with the country.

This was manifested when the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat, Kingsley Agyemang led a delegation to sign a Memoranda of Understanding with Koc University in Turkey.

The MoU signed include Masters with Thesis, Masters without Thesis and PHD.

Koç University is a private non-profit comprehensive research university that offers a world class educational experience in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the highest ranking university in Turkey based on Times Higher Education rankings 2018.

It is also ranked the 8th best in Europe.

The Registrar, Kingsley Agyemang, assured staff of Koc University that records over the years had proven that students from Ghana, who are studying on various scholarships across the world excel in their various fields and for that matter they can be assured of the best brains from Ghana.

Throwing more light on the intended purpose for which the Secretariat was established, Mr Agyemang said it was purposely established to fill the human capital deficit after the exit of the colonial masters.

Mr Agyemang said since then the Secretariat has discharged its mandate effectively and efficiently.

“Over the years, we have trained Ghanaians all over the world,” he said, adding that students from Ghana studying on government t scholarships across the various campuses always excel.

He assured authorities of Koc University that he can vouch that any Ghanaian student brought to study at the university will not disappoint.

“I can assure you that any student we bring here has the right frame of mind, the mindset, the agility to study,” he assured authorities of the University.

According to him, the Secretariat was fascinated by the MoU signed by the two institutions because of a number of reasons including the decision of the government to convert polytechnics into technical universities as well as diploma awarding colleges of education into degree awarding ones.

Another reason, he cited, is the fact that the National Accreditation Board has urged all University lecturers to be at least PHD holders before they can teach in the Universities.

 “What this means is that we then have to get more individuals to get the PHD so we are able to provide the requisite number to meet the demands. This is what the Secretariat seek to do,” he stressed.

The MoU signed with the Turkish University follows similar MoUs that have been signed with other institutions in the United Kingdom, United States of America, South Korea, Canada, among others.

The scholarship packages ranges from 50 per cent fully funded to a 100 per cent fully funded by the awarding institutions with the Ghana scholarship Secretariat as the coordinating agency.

Making some remarks after signing the MoU, Mr Agyemang said he had no doubt that Ghanaian students who will be fortunate to have the opportunity to study in the foreign universities will raise the flag of Ghana high whilst firmly assuring that the best students will be selected.

 “For a state like a Ghana to sponsor a student, then the student must be of high quality,” he indicated.

President and Rector of Koc University, Professor Dr Umran S. Inan on his part, said looking at Ghana’s credentials in terms of education, he had no doubt about the competence of Ghanaian students and that his institution was more than willing to partner with Ghana.

The Ghanaian ambassador to Turkey, Salma Frances Mancell-Egala, noted that she was elated that Ghana was the first country in Africa to sign such an MOU with the best university in Turkey.

Also included in the Ghanaian delegation was the deputy Registrar of the Secretariat, Lydia Darko Acheampong.