The Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) made history with the delivery of its first-ever valedictory speech on the final day of the University’s Fourth Congregation ceremony.
The University conferred PhD, Master’s, and Bachelor’s Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates on a total of 8,165 people during the ceremony from January 20-24, 2026.
The introduction of the valedictory tradition underscored the University’s growing academic maturity and highlighted its commitment to celebrate academic excellence and merit, in addition to offering a platform for high-achieving students to share experiences of their academic journeys to inspire their peers.
The First Valedictorian, Mr. Vincent Baffoe, who graduated with a B.Sc. Mathematics Education, amassing a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.92, also emerged as the overall Best Student among all graduating undergraduate students.
In his address, Mr. Baffoe expressed deep appreciation to the management, faculty, and staff of the University for their mentorship, quality teaching, and guidance over the period of their studentships.
He highlighted the resilience, discipline, and the sacrifices that students had to make to qualify for graduation, noting that AAMUSTED’s concentration on equipping students with practical competencies and critical-thinking skills, had positioned the graduates not only for employment but also for entrepreneurship and problem-solving in Ghana.
“The world may label us as graduates, but let us see ourselves as solutions in waiting. The youth unemployment challenge, high dependency ratio, and infrastructure gap are not just problems; they are invitations for us to innovate,” he charged the graduating cohort.
He used the address to also pay glowing tribute to parents and guardians for the sacrifices and support, while encouraging continuing students to ‘embrace the training process in AAMUSTED with all seriousness, and envision the University as an ecosystem of knowledge, skills, and opportunities.’
Special awards were presented to high-achieving students during the ceremony. Among them were Mr. Vincent Baffoe and Miss Esther Kumi Boateng, who graduated as the Best Mathematics Male and Female students respectively from the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Mathematics Education (FASME). Each of them received Five Hundred United States Dollars (US$500.00).
The Best Mathematics Female and Male Students Award was sponsored by Mr. Christopher Boadi, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) and Board Chairman of the National Insurance Commission (NIC). The sponsorship runs for five years starting from the Fourth Congregation.
Miss Mabel Kisiwaah Owusu from the Faculty of Business Education (FBE) also graduated as the Best Banking and Finance Student. She also received Two Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢2,000.00) as award from the Kwamanman Rural Bank.
