Nana Wiafe Akenten III, Paramount Chief of Offinso, has called for the establishment of more technical-based universities to equip graduates with the requisite entrepreneurship and vocational skills to make them self-employed and contribute meaningfully to national development.
He attributed the country’s surging graduate unemployment to the inability of the universities to train their products to create their
own jobs.
Nana Wiafe Akenten was addressing the opening session of the 50th Annual Synod of the Kumasi Diocesan Methodist Church at Offinso on
Thursday.
He said until there was a shift of focus from the liberal arts to technical education “we will continue to lag behind in achieving our development objectives.”
The five-day conference is on the theme: “I Know That The Lord Has Given This Land To You”.
It provides an opportunity for the church to take stock of its activities and to adopt effective and pragmatic measures to strengthen
its ministration.
Nana Wiafe Akenten, a member of the church, said Methodism had over the years made significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the nation, citing the construction of schools and
health facilities, as well as the promotion of good morals.
He therefore challenged the church’s leadership to work assiduously to sustain the gains, adding that the expectation was that the church would invest in viable development projects to complement efforts of the government to improve the lives of the people.
The Right Reverend Professor Osei Safo-Kantanka, the Diocesan Bishop, urged the delegates to take the agenda of the Synod seriously and help bring into reality the vision of establishing a Technical University.
He also asked the church to intensify evangelism at all levels to increase its membership.