He said the passage of the GTUC Bill would enable the University College to become a full-fledge public university and have the autonomy to issue its own certificates.

Prof Afoakwa made the appeal during the 22nd Congregation of GTUC in Accra, on the theme "Ghana's Energy Policy and National Development: The Role of Tertiary Institutions".

During the congregation, a total of 227 (undergraduates, Masters and PhD) students graduated.

Prof Afoakwa in his report to the Congregation said the GTUC Bill 2017 had gone through Cabinet and was awaiting presentation to Parliament for passage into law.

"This will make GTUC a fully-fledged public university. Great strides have been made in this regard and attaining a public status this year is of paramount interest to the (GTUC) Council and me," he stated.

"Passage of this Bill will enable us to become autonomous and issue our own certificate; it will also allow us to charge competitive public university tuition fess which will help increase enrolment, while the support from government/external partners will aid in the growth and development of our great University."

He said statutes were a key policy instrument that guides the governance of the University College; stating that in view of this, a GTUC Statute Review Committee was established in the first quarter of the year to address lapses, inconsistencies and to incorporate necessary but missing in provisions in the GTUC Statutes document.

He said a final document was ready to be submitted to Council for ratification this May and that he was hopeful this would provide a constitutional framework that would allow GTUC govern its affairs effectively.

With regards to enrolment and graduation, Prof Afoakwa said GTUC had enrolled a total number of 2,860 students for the 2018/19 academic year; this includes 27 PhDs, 530 Masters and 2,350 undergraduate students across all their five regional campuses.

He said the University College had also graduated a total number of 2,441 students for the 2018/19 academic year; this includes 25 PhDs 702 postgraduate, 1,714 undergraduate students across all its five regional campuses.

"I am pleased to inform you that GTUC is excelling beyond expectations and our academic programmes enjoy full accreditation by our local affiliate universities, international partners and other professional bodies," Prof Afoakwa said.

"We continue to place emphasis on academic excellence, nurturing of personal values and ethics that will become the standards of our communities, country and the world at large."

With regards to the theme of the Congregation, Prof Afoakwa said as a higher education institution, GTUC runs a year collaborative programme with Coventry University, United Kingdom in Masters in Business Petroleum Finance and Economics.

He said the course was designed to provide the core competencies relevant to the evolving global oil and gas business landscape which was always evolving and presenting new challenges across the entire value chain, from upstream to downstream.

Prof Afoakwa in a word to the graduating students advised them to constantly seek knowledge, which is an essential ingredient of education.

He urged them to also remember GTUC when the good times come and contribute substantially in kind and/or cash so that the institution could continue to evolve.

Dr Kofi Koduah Sarpong, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, who was the guest speaker for the occasion, said there was no running away from the fact that Ghana's energy sector requires immediate expansion.

He said the solutions, however, were not out of this world; declaring that the young graduands who had acquired knowledge in the fields of engineering, computing and information technology, business administration, and oil and gas and petroleum economists had the answers.

Mr Agyei Frempon-Ntiamoah, the valedictorian on behalf of his colleague graduating students pledged that they would be worthy ambassadors of GTUC by working hard and exhibiting integrity and honour.