Dubbed: ‘the Vice-Chancellor’s Community Initiative Programme (VCCIP),’ the project seeks to create an avenue to improve the standard of education, provide financial support for needy students and skills development.

Hinged on three thrust area, the initiative has neighbourhood academic initiative programme, fi­nancial support for needy students, especially in STEM programmes and community apprenticeship initiative programme.

It formed part of the commit­ment of management of the Uni­versity in reaffirming their role as a socially responsible institution— one that recognises the challenges facing the youth, families, and com­munities of Effutu, Ajumako, and beyond and takes decisive action to address them.

 Focusing on areas such as edu­cation, health, economic empower­ment, and social welfare, the project seeks to create opportunities, uplift lives, and pave the way for sustain­able development.

The Vice Chancellor of UEW, Prof. Stephen Jobson Mitchual, in his address, explained that the initiative was rooted in the belief that education should be, saying, “inclusive, equitable, and life-chang­ing. It is driven by our vision to en­sure that no child is left behind, no potential is wasted, and no dream is out of reach.”

“We are implementing these strategic measures to ensure that young individuals, parents, and families in our host communities are provided with the necessary education, skills, and opportunities to achieve success and fulfillment,” he added.

The VCCIP, Prof. Mitchual explained, was designed to address challenges in low educational performance and limited access to academic support for students preparing for BECE and WASSCE; financial barriers preventing needy students from pursuing higher education, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

Moreover, the project, he explained, was not just a local inter­vention, but part of a bigger global movement that aligns with key United Nations Sustainable Devel­opment Goals (SDGs), particularly.

Under the initiative, he indi­cated that beneficiaries would be “nurtured, guided and adequately prepared” for their respective examinations. The long-term goal is to ensure that beneficiaries of the initiative are well-positioned for enrolment into the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) to pursue tertiary education.

The support, he indicated, would cover tuition, accommoda­tion, and the provision of laptops to ensure that these students have the tools they need to excel and succeed.

The Vice President of the Win­neba Development Association, Nana Ofori Owusu, underscored the need for all to work together to empower the next generation of leaders, saying, “Let us invest in our youth informed by research and in doing so, invest in the future of Ghana”.

Nana Ofori Owusu, who is also the Chairman of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), called for collaboration between the univer­sity and host communities towards the building of the needed human resource base for development and transformation.

He stressed that the initiative should be instituted in the gover­nance structure of the university and not to be seen as the preserve of the current Vice Chancellor.

As part of the launch, the Uni­versity presented scholarship in the form of financial support to needy students, especially in the STEM programmes.