DATA LINK INITIATES STEPS FOR NEW CAMPUS (DAILY GRAPHIC, JULY 8, 2009, PAGE 17)

A former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Professor Stephen Adei, says the private sector holds the key to the future higher education in Ghana. He said there was therefore the need to develop measures that would see them transformed into world-class centres of learning.
Prof. Adei made the call at a sod-cutting ceremony for the permanent campus for the Data Link Institute in Tema.
He indicated that Harvard and Preston universities in the United States of America (USA), which are privately owned, started in garages and basements as Ivy link universities but the passion and determination of managers has transformed them into successful centres of learning which world leaders are clamouring to graduate from today.
Prof. Adei stated that out of the over 25 registered private universities in the country, only a few, including Central University, Data Link, Pentecost University, African University College of Communications (AUCC) were making trends in the provision of quality education and exciting career opportunities for their products.
He commended the management of Data Link for making the institution the first private tertiary institution to introduce Humanities in its programmes and called on the students to make judicious use of their time since time wasted could never be restored.
He also called on them to dedicate adequate time to their books.
Mrs Ingrid Ansah, Vice President of the college, said the construction of a new campus had been necessitated by the increasing number of students which had put pressure on the structure that houses the school and existing facilities. She indicated that the six- storey modern block which is expected to be completed within 18 months would house an amphitheatre that could accommodate up to 1,600 students, a library complex, sick bays, penthouses and offices.
The President of the institute, Mr Ernest Ansah, said that the idea of establishing the school was to bring education closer to the doorstep of people who, due to distance, work and family commitment might never have the chance to obtain degrees.
Data Link evolved from a computer school in 1995 to an institute offering degree programmes. It was accredited by the National Accreditation Board in 2007 to run degree programmes in Computer Science, Information Studies and Business Administration with options in Banking and Finance, Human Resource Management, Marketing and Accounting.