President John Dramani Mahama has announced a plan by the government to establish a University of Agriculture and Allied Sciences in the Savannah Region.
The President said the University, whose focus would be on agriculture and the allied sciences, would train the human resources necessary to drive the Feed Ghana programme and Agriculture for Economic Transformation agenda.
“The university will not just be symbolic, it will be grounded in our national agenda for skills-driven development and align with our National Education Expansion Framework and the 2025 Budget, which allocates increased funding for tertiary infrastructure in deprived regions.”
President Mahama stated in his address at the durbar of the chiefs and people of the Savannah Region in Damongo, during his Thank You Tour of the Region.
The ongoing nationwide Thank You Tour of the President is meant for him to express his gratitude to Ghanaians for their massive support for him and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) during the December 7, 2024 general election.
President Mahama said education remains the bedrock of the nation’s progress, and in line with the NDC 2024 Manifesto, commitment to equalizing access to quality education across the regions, they were taking bold steps to transform the educational landscape of Savannah.
He announced that in line with the NDC’s 2024 Manifesto, the Government would establish a public university in all six new regions, and that he was happy to announce that a public university would be established in the Savannah Region.
Additionally, he said, he had asked the Ministry of Education to establish a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Senior High School in Tinga in the Bole District and to set up a Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Centre of Excellence in Salaga.
He said, would provide hands-on vocational training in ICT, construction, green technologies, and agribusiness.
President Mahama sad to support teacher development, he was pleased to announce that the Savannah College of Education in Daboya, which was previously a private community initiative, had now been officially absorbed as a public teacher training institution.
The President said, he had directed the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission and GETFund to fast-track the recruitment of staff and infrastructure development in the school.
He said, work on the abandoned College of Education at Doli near Bole, which began under his administration, would resume this year.
On health, President Mahama said the health care system as they promised in their manifesto, all the six new regions were going to get regional hospitals.
He also announced that a new regional hospital would be built in Damongo and as they promised in the manifesto, all the regions that don’t have a modern stadium would receive stadia.
“And so, I can announce to you firmly that a modern sports stadium is going to be built here in Damongo,” the President said.
He said regional development investment plans would be drawn up for all the six newly created regions, including the Savannah Region.
These plans, the President said were to allow the new regions to catch up with the older regions and align their local priorities with national budget allocations from feeder roads to irrigation, from health care to digital infrastructure.