Currently 93 per cent of the about 500,000 students studying in various public and private universities in Ghana were undergraduates mostly studying the liberal arts, with only seven per cent pursuing post-graduates courses.

He noted that 78 per cent of the post-graduate students were also studying humanities and said this needed to radically change.

More people should be encouraged to take up the sciences and research programmes.

Prof Agyemang was speaking at the graduation ceremony for 12 students, who had completed a two-year master’s programme in Bio-Economy and Natural Resources Management at the CSIR-Forest Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) and the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) Graduate School.

They formed the second batch of students to graduate from the school with MSC Honours.

Prof. Agyemang said the collaboration of CSIR-FORIG and UEF to roll out the programme was a step in the right direction considering the low patronage of science and research programmes in the various universities.

He added that science and technology was the bedrock of Ghana’s economic development – there could not be sustainable development without linking the economic sectors to science and technology.

There was the need to ensure cutting-edge research in science and technology, build laboratories and to invest in technology.

The CSIR as lead science-oriented institution, he said, would continue to contribute to the human resource base of the country through science.

The establishment of the CSIR College of Science and Technology would further boost that vision.

Prof. Daniel Ofori, the Director of CSIR-FORIG, said the impact of the collaboration between CSIR and the UEF would extend beyond the graduating students to reach many generations to come.

He was confident that the graduates would be a source of pride and become strong ethical leaders who would shape the future of Ghana, the sub-region and the world as a whole.

Prof. Ari Pappinen, a Representative of UEF, said the programme was designed to build the capacity of students to meet the environmental challenges in Africa by equipping them with specialised knowledge in natural resources as well as management skills.

It was also aimed at enhancing employment prospects of students in a competitive job market and to prepare them to face the global natural resources business challenges.