The Vice-Chancellor of the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), Prof. Frederick K. Sarfo, and some Management Members of the University paid a courtesy call on Daasebre Osei Bonsu II, Paramount Chief of Asante Mampong on December 23, 2022.
The visit allowed the University bigwigs to pay homage to the Mamponghene (occupant of the Silver Stool). They also sought his royal counsel and blessings to successfully spearhead AAMUSTED, Ghana’s Public TVET, and Entrepreneurial Development Teacher Education University, to an iconic position in the tertiary education space in Ghana and beyond.
Given the opportunity, Prof. Sarfo expressed gratitude to the Prominent Chief for his continued collaboration and support to the University. He particularly thanked him for his contributions to the establishment of AAMUSTED. The VC called for strengthening the relationship between the University and the Asante Mampong Paramountcy to enhance the development of the University and the Paramountcy.
He assured the Chief and his elders that AAMUSTED had committed itself to an unrestrained effort to make good its mandate to the letter, well aware that the success of AAMUSTED would improve employment in the country.
Prof. Sarfo told the Chief about significant breakthroughs the University was achieving as it conducts a Comprehensive Needs Assessment in industry and other relevant institutions. That, he said, was informing the revision of the University’s existing programmes and the crafting of new ones to meet the needs of industry to make graduates of AAMUSTED employable and trigger a boom in job creation in Ghana.
The VC appealed to the Prominent Chief and his elders to support AAMUSTED. He requested the chiefs to encourage the citizens of Mampong to embrace the University as their ultimate destination for tertiary education.
Prof. Sarfo announced the University’s decision to offer full scholarships to two (2) brilliant citizens of the Mampong Paramountcy and requested the chiefs to facilitate the nomination of the beneficiaries of the scholarship.
For his part, the Mamponghene pledged his unalloyed support to the University, observing that the progress of AAMUSTED would impact the overall development of Asante Mampong.
A former Registrar of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Daasebre Osei Bonsu II underscored the vital role a university could play in attracting development to an area. He, therefore, tasked his elders to lead the campaign in getting the Mampong citizens to enroll in droves in AAMUSTED, stressing that it would be better for them to choose AAMUSTED, where TVET and entrepreneurship programmes are on offer to prepare them for industry and job creation.
Responding to a complaint by Prof. Sarfo that the University’s Asante Mampong campus lands were being encroached on, Daasebre Osei Bonsu II expressed disgust about the development, which he described as unfortunate. He accordingly directed his Stool Lands Office to investigate the matter and report back to him for necessary action to be taken immediately. He also cautioned citizens against further encroachment of the University lands, stressing that culprits would suffer dire consequences.
Accompanying the Vice-Chancellor to the Mampong Palace were the Registrar, Mr. Augustus Kwaw Brew; Acting Principal at the Asante Mampong Campus, Prof. Emmanuel Dartey; Director of University Relations, Mr. Michael Kofi Twum-Ampomah; Dean, Faculty of Agriculture Education, Prof. Isaac Abunyuwah; Campus Registrar for Asante Mampong, Mr. Richard K. Mprah; and the Head of Finance, Asante Mampong Campus, Mr. Gregory Asankoma Esq.