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Deputy Minister for Education, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, has charged the newly invested Vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Professor Mohammed Muniru Iddrisu, to confront pressing challenges facing the university, including student accommodation, water supply, inadequate learning facilities and graduate unemployment.
According to him, UDS is assuming a new leadership at a time when Ghana’s universities are under growing pressure from rising student numbers, inadequate and unpredictable funding, ageing infrastructure and the rapid transformation of the job market.
Dr Apaak made the remarks at the investiture of Professor Mohammed Muniru Iddrisu as the sixth Vice-Chancellor of UDS at the university’s Tamale Campus on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
He said the university’s development mandate required its leadership to ensure that academic work and research translated into practical solutions to the challenges confronting communities, particularly in northern Ghana.
“UDS must continue to be a university that sees the farmer, the rural woman, the unemployed graduate, the community without safe water, the child threatened by malnutrition and the settlement exposed to climate change as part of its academic responsibility,” he said.
Student welfare concerns
Dr Apaak said concerns over student accommodation, water supply, roads and learning facilities at UDS could no longer be treated as peripheral issues.
He argued that poor access to basic services directly affects students’ ability to participate effectively in academic life.
“A student who spends valuable time searching for water, struggling to secure safe accommodation or navigating an unsafe learning environment cannot participate fully in academic life,” he stated.
He also called for greater attention to student welfare, including safe accommodation, reliable water, secure learning facilities, counselling and a supportive academic environment.
Graduate unemployment, AI challenge
The Deputy Minister further identified graduate unemployment, limited research funding and inadequate opportunities for continuous staff development as major challenges confronting the tertiary education sector.
He warned that while government must continue expanding access to tertiary education, such expansion should not come at the expense of academic standards.
“Access without quality offers only the appearance of progress,” Dr Apaak cautioned.
He also urged UDS to respond strategically to the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, which he said were changing teaching, research, knowledge production and the nature of work.
He called for investment in digital infrastructure, ethical standards and human capacity to ensure that technology was adopted without compromising academic integrity.
Research must solve real problems
Dr Apaak challenged UDS to strengthen research in areas including agriculture, climate change, food security, public health, renewable energy, water management, peacebuilding, education and digital technology.
He said research produced by universities must move beyond academic journals and conferences to influence government policy, district development plans, businesses, farms, clinics and communities.
“A university does not fulfil its mandate merely by producing knowledge. It fulfils that mandate when knowledge improves lives,” he said.
He further urged the university to deepen partnerships with government, industry, development partners, traditional authorities, local communities and international institutions.
Revive community-based learning
The Deputy Minister singled out UDS’s Third Trimester Field Practical Programme, urging the new administration to modernise it without losing its community-development focus.
He said students should not enter communities simply to fulfil an academic requirement but should engage as learners, partners and problem-solvers.
According to him, the programme should expose students to real challenges including climate vulnerability, public health, local governance, entrepreneurship, digital exclusion and other development concerns.
Call for accountable leadership
Dr Apaak also urged Professor Iddrisu to prioritise transparency, prudent financial management, staff and student welfare, fair discipline and constructive engagement with organised labour.
He called for stronger gender inclusion and support for persons with disabilities, insisting that every member of the university community must be able to learn and work with dignity.
He urged the new Vice-Chancellor to build consensus and listen to stakeholders, particularly those who may not have easy access to his office.
“Leadership is not proved by how firmly one occupies a chair. It is proved by how responsibly one carries the weight of the institution,” he said.
Dr Apaak assured the university that the Ministry of Education would continue to work with its Governing Council, management and stakeholders to advance the mandate of UDS.
Professor Mohammed Muniru Iddrisu was subsequently invested as the sixth Vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies, succeeding Professor Seidu Al-hassan.
Source: Bolgafmonline.com| 102.7 MHz| Tamale
