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The two bills establishing the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Brong Ahafo Region and the University of Health and Allied Sciences in the Volta Region have gone through their second reading stage of passage in Parliament. A Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary Education, Mr Mahama Ayariga, on Tuesday, moved the two motion for their bills to be read for the second time, while the chairman for the Education Committee of Parliament, Mr Mathias Puozaa, seconded the motions and presented reports on the bills. But, the issue concerning the siting of the main campus of the University of Energy and Natural Resources in the Brong Ahafo Region became a subject of controversy as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, conveyed the sentiments of chiefs and people of Fiapre, where the main campus will be established to the House. According to the Bill, the university would have its campus in Sunyani and may establish other campuses to address the needs and programmes of the university. However, according to Mr Baffour-Awuah, the land that had been acquired for the establishment of the main campus of the university belonged to the chiefs and people of Fiapre, near Sunyani. He stated that since the people of Fiapre were autonomous and did not owe allegiance to the Omanhene of Sunyani, they would not want a university that would be sited on their land to be in the name of Sunyani. He therefore called for the necessary corrections to be effected on the bill to avoid the creation of needless tensions in the area. Responding to the concerns of the MP, Mr Ayariga told the House that he had visited the chiefs and elders of Fiapre himself during which the issue was raised. According to him the matter was receiving the necessary attention and appealed to the chiefs and people of the Fiapre to calm down. Presenting the report on the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Mr Puozaa indicated that the university would not only create and enhance access to tertiary education but to also train the needed specialists in the area of science and health sciences in general, which was critical to nation building. On the University of Energy and Natural Resources, he stated that it would not only create and enhance access to tertiary education but also train specialists in the energy and natural resources for national development. Contributing to the ensuing debate, the Deputy Majority Leader, Alhaji Abdul Rashid Pelpuo stated that Ghanaians had a cause to celebrate since the establishment of additional public universities in the country had been long overdue. He therefore called on stakeholders to support efforts by the government to ensure that it fulfilled its campaign promise of establishing the two universities in the two regions. Mr Ayariga thanked members of the House for their suggestions and criticisms and stated that the government would incorporate useful ideas into the two bills to enable the two universities stand the test of time after their establishment.