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Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has challenged private universities to rebrand themselves with innovative programmes that would make them competitive.

He said the establishment of a private university should be a market-driven process and not as a fashionable enterprise.

“Every university should have its area or areas of strength. The mode of teaching in most public and private universities should change to promote critical thinking, and provide students with set skills, to make them attractive to their employers,” the Minister added.

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng made the call at the 12th Congregation of the Regent University of Science and Technology in Accra, over the weekend, on the theme: “Strategic Policy Initiatives to Foster Vibrant Growth of Private Tertiary Institutions”.

He urged private universities to engage in relevant research, and create the space for the establishment of incubator companies that would benefit government initiatives and improve efficiency.

In all, 336 students from Ghana, Nigeria, Gabon and Benin graduated from the University comprising; 204 men and 132 women.

Fifty-nine students obtained first class honours, 175 had second class (upper division) and 94 had second class (lower division), with four passes.

Additionally, there were four post-graduate students, who graduated with Master of Divinity and Theology, while 12 students received professional certificates in HIV and Management.

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng charged private universities to position themselves with the right programmes that were in alignment with national priorities to absorb prospective Free Senior High School graduates, who would move up the education ladder to the tertiary level in the next two years.