He made the statement here at the UDS when he swore in the governing council on Friday.

The minister said a child could start his or her education from crèche up to the university level without travelling outside Tamale for their education

“All this is the efforts of former President Jerry John Rawlings,” he stated.

He eulogised the late former President for establishing Uni­versity for Development (UDS) in the Northern Region.

He said the good people of the north would forever remember the late former President Rawlings for bringing university education close their doorsteps.

Mr Iddrisu added that their children who had the opportu­nity to be offered an admission to the university, study in the comfort of their own backyard.

He said the establishment of UDS in the north had opened up more opportunities to many of the young people in the north.

The minister, however, ap­pealed to the management of the university to lift the univer­sity high as it stands to compete with other big universities in the southern sector.

Mr Iddrisu also urged them to focus more on rural develop­ment, adding that the main aim of the university was to cham­pion the development of rural communities in the country.

He also assured them that the government had no plans to in­terfere with any of the activities of the university.

The minister added that the resetting agenda of the govern­ment was to ensure that they provided enough infrastructure development to the universities across the country