“Facebooking”, Cause Of Falling Educational Standards – Chief Justice

The Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Theodora Woode has bemoaned the falling standards of education in the country and attributed the problem to students’ addiction to the internet and the lackadaisical attitude to reading.

She stated this in a speech read for her by Justice Avril Anim-Yeboah, Justice of the Court of Appeal at the second congregation and third matriculation of the Knutsford University College (KUC) in Accra on Saturday. It was on the theme: ‘Quality education for the 21st century.’

92 students graduated while 200 freshmen were admitted.Among the graduands were Journalists who were awarded the professional certificate in Communication Science.

Mrs. Woode said many students prefer surfing the internet and Facebook, instead of conducting researches to enhance their education to enable them contribute to the development of the nation.

“Students of today prefer short cut to success and thereby and thereby engage in examination malpractices, and at the end, complete with nothing to contribute to the development of the nation” she stressed, adding that was one reason why some students after school rely on government for jobs instead of becoming self –employed.

Mrs. Woode urged parents to make the education of their children a priority, and asked the university to produce graduates with critical thinking, creativity and reflective-thinking, to make a difference in their chosen fields.

Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, Vice Chancellor, University of Ghana commended the college for its vision and assured it of affiliation to enable it produce more graduates for the economy. He urged the students not to be deceived by politicians, to disrupt the December election but rather study hard to achieve their aim in the future.

Prof. Robert Ampoah, President KUC said the college which started with 36 students in January 2008, now has a population of 700. The objective of the college is to produce quality graduates for the job market, offer scholarships to brilliant but needy students as well as free intensive leadership and communication courses for journalists.

He appealed to the GETFUND to stretch its assistance to private colleges to enable them educate the future generations of the country. The college offers Business Administration, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Accounting and Finance, Information Systems, Computer Science and Communication Science, among other programmes.