MMDCES ADVISED TO UPGRADE THEMSELVES (PAGE 12, DEC 7, 2010)

THE Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies, Dr Esther Offei-Aboagye, has advised Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) with the requisite entry requirements to take advantage of the programmes at the institute to upgrade themselves academically.
She said the institute was opening its doors to the MMDCEs and believed they would respond appropriately.
Speaking in an interview after the signing of an affiliation agreement with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) last Thursday, Dr Offei-Aboagye, recalled a recent advice given by local government expert, Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, to MMDCEs to upgrade themselves academically and said the advice needed to be taken seriously.
The affiliation agreement would see the KNUST supervising four Masters Degree programmes at the institute which are M.Sc. Environmental Science, M.Sc. Policy Management and Local Economic Development, M.Sc. Local Government Financial Administration and M.Sc. Local Government Administration.
Earlier at the signing ceremony, Dr Offei-Aboagye, expressed the hope that the relationship with the KNUST would further enrich their academic programmes and the work of the assemblies.
“This is a long dream come into reality and we hope to build on the relationship,” she said.
The Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Prof. W.O. Ellis, emphasised the need for quality human resource in local governance if the nation wanted to see improve growth.
“We are in a knowledge economy and everyone wants to go to school.
As a university, we will open our doors in various ways to enable many people acquire higher education,” he said.
Prof. Ellis, stressed that KNUST would not compromise on quality and would always ensure that its affiliated institutions maintain the required standards.
He said the university was expanding its distance learning programmes to enable more people benefit from it.
He commended the management of the institute for working hard to meet the standards set for the affiliation.
At the same ceremony, the Christian Service University College in Kumasi also signed an affiliation agreement with the KNUST.