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Natural resources are no panacea for
poverty reduction - Prof Kuupole
Accra, Nov. 26, Ghanadot/GNA - A lecturer at the University
of Cape Coast (UCC) has said the amount natural resources
that the continent has is not enough to deliver its people
out of poverty, diseases and ignorance.
What was needed was investment in people who would be more
disciplined, knowledgeable and skilled, Professor Domwin
Dabire Kuupole, Dean, Faculty of Arts, UCC, said at the
weekend.
“The development and progress of any nation, for that matter
our nation, Ghana, hinge on disciplined, knowledgeable and
skilled human capital,” Prof. Kuupole said in an address to
about 90 graduates from across Africa who passed out from
the Accra-based Centre of Languages and Professional Studies
(CELPS).
The centre, a private initiative, has a vision of bringing
Africans together through the breaking down of languages
barriers that separate them.
Students are trained to become bilingual professionals in
whatever discipline they undertake, with emphasis on
secretarial and translation duties.
Prof. Kuupole said Africa was resourced with diverse talents
and able-bodied, energetic young men and women, and if
people in leadership provided them with the right
opportunities and the needed space they would be able to
discover their potentials, talents and skills.
“It is a well-trained, well-educated, appropriately skilled,
well-informed, well equipped, knowledgeable, well
disciplined, competent and dedicated Ghanaians who can
successfully push Ghana’s development forward.
“During the glorious times of our independence, our public
and civil servants, teachers, medical doctors, engineers and
other professionals were rated equal and comparable to any
other professionals in the world and especially the western
and so-called industrial world.”
Prof. Kuupole said if Ghana wanted to continue to be the
beacon of hope for Africa, it had to invest more in
producing the quality of men who led the continent to
independence so that the future would be better.
“The best way for us to champion African excellence through
education is to invest in the education of our children and
the young men and women whom we ourselves have brought forth
into this world.”
Prof. Kuupole called on the state to channel funds and
resources into building appropriate infrastructure such as
school buildings, training centres, and electricity as well
as motivate private individuals, corporate bodies, NGOs,
teachers and other stakeholders for them to deliver quality
education to the youth.
He congratulated the Director, Management and Staff of CELPS
for offering the opportunity to their students to acquire
more than one foreign language in such as English, French,
Spanish, German and Arabic.
“The more languages one acquires the more competitive one
becomes in the global village that our world has become.”
Prof. Dominic Fobih, Minister of Education, Science and
Sports, in a speech read for him said Ghana was indeed
championing the African excellence in education through
CELPS, by bringing to Ghana dynamic and energetic youth to
learn English and bridge the language barrier which was an
indispensable tool in promoting the African integration.
“We need to integrate for cultural, economic, social,
educational and technological advancement as well as
promoting good governance in the midst of globalisation.”
Mr Iddrisu Mumuni Dimbie, Director (CELPS), said he had been
invited by the Ministry of Education on Guinea Conakry to
establish a similar institute in the country to train the
youth in bilingual studies.
“Hopefully that institution would begin next year,” he said.
He promised to assist the Ministry of Education with French
teachers to promote the study of the French language in
Ghanaian schools.
GNA
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