Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, has urged university graduates to ensure high sense of discipline and work hard to inject some pace into the country's socio-economic development.
The wealth of any nation, he said, was its human resource and it was therefore imperative that the students put their acquired knowledge, skills and expertise at the disposal of the country.
The expectation was that they would be more productive and innovative to help transform the society, Otumfuo said.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu, who is the Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), was addressing the opening
session of the 44th congregation of the university in Kumasi on Monday.
A total of 667 students from the Departments of Geography and Rural Development, Economics, Sociology and Social Work, and Tourism and Culture, graduated and were awarded degree certificates.
This year's congregation had been divided into 12 sessions, spanning a period of six days and would see over 7,000 students graduating.
The Asantehene noted the critical role of science and technology in development and said it was high time KNUST was adequately resourced to
carry out its mandate, vision and mission of spearheading Ghana's development agenda through research.
The university hits the 60 years milestone next year, and the University Council would work with the Academic Board to straighten all
rough edges so that it becomes a centre of academic excellence, he said.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu was full of praise for the out-going Vice Chancellor, Professor Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, for various initiatives and programmes he introduced during his four-year tenure of office.
He urged the incoming Vice-Chancellor, Professor William Ellis Otoo, to work assiduously to bring more progress to the university.
Dr Ato Essuman, a Member of the Council of State and an alumnus, advised the graduates to network with the alumni as they searched for jobs.
Professor Adarkwa commended the graduates for their hard work and called on them to let the nation profit from their acquired skills.