President of Data Link Institute of Business and Technology (DLIBT), Professor Stanley Moffatt, has urged government to extend support to private universities.
He said it was high time the government came to their aid using the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), state scholarships, research grants as well as subsidies for infrastructure expansion.
“The most debilitating challenge facing most private universities is inadequate funding. Data Link Institute of Business and Technology, like most private universities, rely almost entirely on internally generated funds from its programmes and activities. Most public universities receive funding from a variety of sources, including government agencies, not-for-profit organisations, and business interests. This never-ending challenge is exacerbated by the tortuous process of accreditation and affiliation, which place excessive financial pressure on the private universities.
“I wish to propose that government should consider all universities – both public and private – as a public good that must be supported in equal measure,” Prof. Moffatt said.
Prof. Moffatt made the appeal during the 13th graduation ceremony of Data Link Institute of Business and Technology in Tema.
He said in many federal systems, the constitution and law typically establish higher education as primarily a responsibility of the state government. He added that in countries like Belgium and Netherlands, there is an entrenched policy of channelling public funds into supporting private higher education, which can be replicated in Ghana considering the huge number of students studying to private universities.
Although Prof. Moffatt commended government for abolishing corporate tax for private universities, he said taxes on teaching, learning and innovation materials remain a headache for them.
Graduation ceremony
About 235 students graduated for the 2021/2022 academic year. Out of the number, 30 students graduated with Master’s degrees, 181 students with Bachelor’s degrees, and 24 with advanced diplomas.
In terms of performance, 13 students had First Class honours and 110 students with Second Class (Upper Division).
The school’s management congratulated the students for a battle well-fought, and urged them to be good ambassadors of the Institute.
