{"id":106016,"date":"2025-12-09T11:40:56","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=106016"},"modified":"2025-12-09T11:40:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:40:56","slug":"uesd-5-seth-terkper-hails-rapid-growth-but-warns-infrastructure-gaps-are-slowing-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=106016","title":{"rendered":"UESD @5: Seth Terkper hails rapid growth but warns infrastructure gaps are slowing progress"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 42 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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The University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) has marked its fifth anniversary with celebration and sober reflection.<\/p>\n

Its council chairman, former Finance Minister Seth Terkper, praised its remarkable growth but warned that critical infrastructure gaps continue to hold the young institution back.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the university\u2019s second congregation ceremony in Somanya, Mr Terkper said UESD had grown \u201cfrom a modest beginning to a vibrant institution,\u201d with student enrollment rising from 78 in 2020 to more than 1,330 this academic year. <\/p>\n

\"UESD<\/figure>\n

He noted that new graduate programmes, an expanded staff base and a wider network of academic partnerships had strengthened the university\u2019s profile in environmental sciences and sustainable development.<\/p>\n

But the growth, he cautioned, had come with \u201csignificant pressures.\u201d <\/p>\n

Many students live off campus because stalled accommodation projects have failed to keep pace with rising numbers, forcing some to walk long distances to lectures. <\/p>\n

Community members, he said, had improvised solutions, converting commercial spaces or opening their homes to students \u201cat very short notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UESD<\/figure>\n

\u201cThese challenges have slowed our start-up and limited our strategic momentum,\u201d he told graduates, families, officials and traditional leaders. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have critically uncompleted physical development projects preventing us from achieving our full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Terkper referenced long-standing funding disruptions, including the diversion of resources meant for university projects, which the council has formally brought to the attention of the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC). <\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not recount these circumstances to sour a joyful occasion,\u201d he said, \u201cbut they are realities we must confront.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the difficulties, he pointed to recent government commitments as signs of progress. Two new 450-bed hostel blocks have been approved, which he described as an \u201cinitial intervention\u201d to ease the accommodation crisis. <\/p>\n

\"UESD<\/figure>\n

He also acknowledged the contributions of both past and current Education Ministers, highlighting former minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh for his \u201ccritical assistance\u201d during difficult phases.<\/p>\n

Established in 2015 under Act 898, UESD was created to be a centre of excellence for environmental studies and a driver of Ghana\u2019s commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. <\/p>\n

Mr. Terkper said the university\u2019s early years had honoured that mandate, crediting faculty and staff for building \u201ca place where knowledge meets responsibility and innovation meets environmental consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing the Class of 2025, he urged graduates to carry that ethos into their careers. \u201cYour education is a tool for service,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cLet the principles of sustainability guide your every action and decision. The world awaits your ideas, your energy and your integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UESD<\/figure>\n

Looking ahead, he said the council was reviewing UESD\u2019s five-year strategic plan with a focus on consolidation rather than sweeping changes. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe took a cautious decision not to jettison progress under the old plan,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will build on what has been achieved to ensure the university remains agile and impactful.\u201d<\/p>\n

He closed by thanking community leaders, families, faculty and government agencies whose support has sustained the university. Their partnership, he said, remains central to UESD\u2019s mission. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith your partnership, we will continue to strengthen governance, expand infrastructure and attract investment in research and innovation. Our task is to nurture a university that contributes meaningfully to regional, national and international development.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"UESDThe University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) has marked its fifth anniversary with celebration and sober reflection. Its council chairman, former Finance Minister Seth Terkper, praised its remarkable growth but warned that critical infrastructure gaps continue to hold the young institution back. Speaking at the university\u2019s second congregation ceremony in Somanya, Mr Terkper said [\u2026]<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":106017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[491,10,9,3325,13589],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-politics","category-popular","category-seth-terkper","category-university-of-environment-and-sustainable-development-uesd"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=106016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/106017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=106016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=106016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=106016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}