The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, has enjoined media practitioners not to run down the country’s universities but strive to promote their positive attributes.

Such an endeavour, he said, was one of the surest ways to develop the universities to best global practices and standards.

The vice chancellor stated this when he met the management of Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) in a meeting to explore partnerships aimed at deepening ties between the two organisations.

The GCGL was represented by the Managing Director, Mr Ato Afful, the Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Kobby Asmah, and the Director, Marketing, Mr Franklin Sowa.

Others from the UG were the Ag. Director, Office of Institutional Advancement, Prof. Robert Ebo Hinson; the Director, Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, Professor George Nkansah; Ms Adwoa Abrokwa and Ms Magdaline Tandoh of the Alumni Relations Office; Mrs Anna Amporful of the UG Alumni Association (Ghana), and Mrs Bernardine Bediako-Poku from the Office of Research, Innovation and Development.

Promoting ties

As part of the arrangement, the two institutions will work to promote the development of joint studies, research and training activities.

The Vice- Chancellor said that making research findings known was a challenge to many universities in the country.

“We sit on an ivory tower; we sit on knowledge but we do not project our own,” Prof. Owusu stated.

Regrettably, he said, news about the universities were mostly negative.

He posited that positive news helped the universities to strive for excellence and do well in global rankings.

He, therefore, urged the media to endeavour to promote the universities and not to run them down with negative reports.

COVID

Prof. Owusu said, for instance, that the premier university had done so much under the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“What we have done under COVID-19 is amazing.There is so much research findings we can share on COVID-19,” he declared.

“We need to tell the success stories of the university,” he further stated, adding that COVID-19 had taught us great lessons of being independent.

“If we stick to this, the country will do better, ” the vice chancellor said.

National mandate

For his part, Mr Afful indicated that GCGL was celebrating its 70th anniversary this year and it was right and proper to have such engagements with the University of Ghana.

He said with GCGL at 70, it was befitting to deepen ties with the premier university, a citadel of education, for guidance, asking: “Where better can we go for this level of guidance?”

Mr Afful noted that GCGL had a national mandate to inform and educate the citizenry to make the right and informed choices and that the company was ever willing to partner the UG on thought leadership programmes.

Currently, Mr Afful pointed out that the GCGL business which started with print was now moving speedily into digital platforms.

He mentioned the Graphic Online and Graphic Newsplus platforms as additions to the Graphic stables.

Additionally, he urged the university not only to take advantage of the GPAK, a subsidiary of the GCGL, for their printing jobs but the Graphic Courier services in the delivery of goods and services.

“We have built an infrastructure that is most reliable and dependable and we do hope you will take advantage of them,” Mr Afful stated.

Assurance

The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Kobby Asmah, assured the university authorities of the continuous support of GCGL in the positive promotion of activities of the university.

He, therefore, stressed the need for deepened engagements as it was the only way to sustain collaborative efforts that could mutually benefit the two institutions, help them to learn from each other and grow their brands.

Mr Sowa, for his part, welcomed the initiative and described the two institutions as “heritage brands” because both were celebrating seven decades of existence.

Professor George Nkansah was of the view that since the world was now in the technology age the bilateral engagement would be a win-win situation.