Thursday, February 19, 2009

The uni in VR

I just read a story about a medical and technical university to be built in Sokode, in the Volta Region of Ghana. Now as a proud child of the Volta region, that news makes me happy. I think its about time that the country got another public university. This uni is being built by a Swiss based humanitarian group ACORD, has an estimated cost of $850 million, will have funding set aside for needy students and will be run by the government once its done.

I'll admit that when I read the article on joyonline I was a little skeptical. It almost sounds too good to be true. So I had all these questions that were answered by a much closer reading of the article. This is why my teachers have always said "read the entire question!!!!!" But I digress and I still have a few questions:

The website says that "ACORD's response to the challenges of Africa is firmly based on a belief that people themselves are the agents of change and actors of their own development. People's ability to take action on the causes of poverty is what will transform Africa's future." This sounds noble, but I wonder why the government isnt being asked to contribute somehow to the building of the university? Perhaps because the government will have to run and maintain the university which is quite the task..........still, I wonder if it'll be maintained and run a little more carefully because the government's thus the people's money has gone into raising the infrastructure?

Actually, this just show's me that I know very little about how projects are carried out by the country. How much aid money and loans do we live on? How much money does the country generate and where does it come from? Is out tax system anywhere near effective? These are truly random questions- it might actually be fun to find out the answers. As much as I tend to distrust politicians, it will be kinda cool to sit and talk to one who is knowledgeable about the nuts and bolts of running a country.....

So if anyone has some knowledge or info or insight, please let a sister know......

That said, I wonder how the med school in the North is doing? I hear so little about it that I sometimes forget that it exists. I do know that a few years ago, students from there had to go to KATH and K'Bu for some part of their training. I wonder if that's all been worked out. Does anyone have any info or fila to pass on?

Anyways, I think it'll be very exciting if things run smoothly with this new school. Lets see how it all pans out.

2 comments:

  1. Government projects in Ghana are terribly slow. When it comes to infrastructure, the building contractors actually have to do the building before funds are released, as some sort of benchmark to make sure they do a good job. Even though there is the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) dedicated to projects related to education, those also tend to be 'slow' because sometimes the GETFund money is used for other projects.

    The news of a university in the VR is really welcome. There are a ton of private universities in Ghana these days but they are mostly centered around Accra. It may become another burden for the government so having a public-private partnership will be great.

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