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The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has urged the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) to position itself as Ghana’s thought leader in environmental policy and climate innovation.
He further tasked UESD to define iteds niche by tackling pressing environmental issues such as climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and green energy.
“The world is going green and so must Ghana. UESD must not only teach environmental management; it must live it, research it and shape national thinking around it,” the Minister said.
Mr Iddrisu stated this when he inaugurated an 11-member governing council of the university chaired by Presidential Advisor on Economy Seth Terkper.
He reminded the council that it was taking office at a time that the country was confronted with a major problem of pollution of its water bodies, which was affecting not only the quality of drinking water but also “even the quality of the air we breathe.”
The minister, therefore, said the new council was expected to guide UESD in building partnerships with international climate organisations, private sector green businesses, and other academic institutions that shared a sustainability focus.
“In UESD, Ghana has the opportunity to build a university that speaks to the future of the planet,” he emphasised.
He said as one of Ghana’s youngest public universities, UESD had already begun to carve a name for itself in areas related to sustainable ecosystems, climate resilience, and environmental engineering.
The minister urged the university to use the GH?10 million seed fund allocated to it by government, which would further accelerate its growth trajectory by supporting new programmes, expanding facilities and investing in faculty development.
The UESD is expected to champion community outreach programs that educate the public on environmental stewardship.
The university is also being positioned to contribute to Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement by offering local solutions backed by sound research and public engagement.
A member of the council, Prof. Paul Dela Ahiatrogah, who responded on behalf of the chairman of council, expressed gratitude to President John Mahama for giving them the opportunity to serve in that capacity, saying that as a team, they would work to resonate the philosophy that informed the establishment of the university.
