The Vice-Chancellor of the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), Prof. Frederick Kwaku Sarfo, has appealed to traditional authorities around the University to get involved in efforts to develop AAMUSTED.

“We need you in various ways including, the fight against the unbridled encroachment of the University lands, improvement of security in the University, and expansion of our accommodation facilities for our teeming students,” he explained.

The Vice-Chancellor made the appeal when the University Management paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Atwima Agogo, Nana Osei Kwame III, on November 12, 2021. The visit was to show appreciation to the chief for his role in establishing AAMUSTED and his continuous support to the University. AAMUSTED is sited partly on the Atwima Agogo lands.

For instance, Prof. Sarfo said the traditional authorities could link the University to strategic partners and philanthropists to support the expeditious development of AAMUSTED.

He stressed the importance of collaboration between the University and the community, explaining that the success of AAMUSTED would have an impact on job creation with the attendant rapid development of the nation.

“It is therefore important for all of us to get involved in the development and expansion of AAMUSTED,” Prof. Sarfo said, further explaining that the University’s mandate is to champion Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and entrepreneurship as a way out for the country’s unemployment challenges.

In that regard, he said the University was on course to review its academic programmes where necessary, strategically acquiring equipment, and hiring the best human resources possible to ensure that ultimately, AAMUSTED does not disappoint but meets the needs of society. “We shall always honour our social responsibilities to our community by identifying the society’s felt needs and helping, to the best of our ability, to address them,” he assured Nana Osei Kwame III.

Prof. Sarfo expressed the gratitude of the University to the Agogohene, recalling the traditional authority’s generosity in allocating a large tract of land way back in 1966 for the establishment of the then Technical Teacher College (TTC), which has now metamorphosed into AAMUSTED, a full-fledged autonomous University.

For his part, an elated Nana Osei Kwame pledged unflinching support towards the development of AAMUSTED. Particularly on the issue of accommodation for students, he said the traditional authority, letting lands, would prioritise persons with interest to invest in hostel facilities in the immediate environs of the University.

He also suggested that the University Management set up an endowment fund as quickly as practicable and invite members of the communities in the surroundings of the University, institutions, and capable individuals nationwide to contribute to it.

“It is important for society to support tertiary institutions to expand so that the institutions could absolve the hundreds of thousands graduating from the Senior High Schools because of the Free SHS Policy,” he added.

Nana Osei Kwame, meanwhile, advised Prof. Sarfo and his Management Team to show unparalleled devotion to duty and work hard so posterity would give them plaudits for building a solid foundation for AAMUSTED and leaving a legacy. “Atwima Agogo will continue to pray for your success. We shall support you all the way,” he assured the AAMUSTED Management.

The AAMUSTED Team included the Acting Director of Finance, Mr. Geoffrey Mensah; Deputy Registrar and Head of University Relations, Mr. Michael Kofi Twum-Ampomah; the Head of Human Resource, Mr. Richard Kwadwo Mprah; and an Accountant, Mrs. Janet Otoo Acheampong.