The Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Professor Stephen Jobson Mitchual, has called on graduates to leverage their skills for entrepreneurship rather than identifying with unemployment groups after school.
Speaking Media, Prof. Mitchual said graduates, especially those from UEW, are equipped with practical knowledge that should enable them to create their own opportunities.
He cited home economics as an example of a discipline that provides marketable skills which can serve as a livelihood after graduation.
“Studying home economics from senior high school through to university equips students with valuable skills that can serve as a livelihood after graduation,” he explained.
“Though securing formal employment can be difficult, home economics graduates are well prepared to create their own jobs.”
He described graduating in home economics as a “blessing,” stressing that the programme fosters entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency. He therefore encouraged students to take the course seriously, saying it offers real-world skills capable of transforming lives.
At a recent exhibition, lecturers from UEW’s Faculty of Health, Allied Sciences, and Home Economics Education echoed the Vice Chancellor’s sentiments, urging students to embrace entrepreneurship and shift perceptions about universities being factories for unemployment.
They also rejected the stereotype that home economics is reserved for students with weaker academic backgrounds, describing it as an outdated and misleading notion that must be discarded nationwide.
However, some student organizers raised concerns about inadequate facilities, pointing to obsolete equipment and the absence of a fully equipped laboratory for practical training.
They appealed to government and university authorities to provide the necessary resources to support quality teaching and learning.
The used the opportunity to call on the government to invest more on the Universities faculty to promote effective teaching and learning of practical home Economics.
“ Currently our student population has outgrown our laboratory for practical’s some of the food produce for this exhibition we have to take some to the KNUST in Kumasi for testing which because we lack the resource so we are calling on the government to invest in the falcuty. The laboratory desgn for about 35 studenst is currently serving over 2000 students so there’s always pressure on us as lecturers we have to work with them in groups. Which takes so much time’’.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
