University Of Ghana Holds Maiden Virtual Congregation Ceremony

30 Jul, 2020by skdagudetse

Valedictorian - Amanda Nutakor

The University of Ghana on Thursday, July 30, 2020 held its maiden virtual congregation ceremony for a cohort of 88 Law students from the University of Ghana School of Law, College of Humanities and 45 students from the University of Ghana Medical and Dental School, College of Health Sciences.

In her opening remarks, Mrs. Mercy Haizel-Ashia, Registrar, explained that the decision to hold a virtual ceremony was necessitated by the current national safety guidelines for meetings involving large numbers as a result of the global pandemic COVID-19. She added that the affected students are required to have their certificates, to enable them continue with their professional training, which should start from August 2020.

Registrar - Mrs. Mercy Haizel-Ashia

Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse, Chancellor of the University who delivered the opening address indicated that although graduands would have wished to converge on campus with friends and family, the congregation ceremony has had to be redesigned in the wake of COVID-19 to safeguard the health of all stakeholders. She expressed appreciation to Management of the University for all arrangements put in place to ensure the continuity and successful completion of the 2019/2020 academic year in the wake of the novel coronavirus. The Chancellor further applauded the efforts of Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), West Africa Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) and all frontline health workers fighting COVID-19. She indicated that the University has explored conventional and non-conventional approaches for prospective students to access higher education. The Chancellor also noted that the University is improving both physical and IT infrastructure in order to offer a blended approach to teaching and learning.

Chancellor - Mrs. Mary Chinery Hesse

Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Vice-Chancellor, recounted in his report that following the presidential directive for the closure of all educational institutions in Ghana effective March 15, 2020, Management rolled out the online teaching and learning programme to ensure that the Second Semester of the 2019/2020 academic year would be completed successfully, amidst other arrangements to enable faculty, staff and students work off-campus. He conveyed Management’s gratitude to all stakeholders especially students for their co-operation.

He also commended various units of the University including the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), West Africa Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), Department of Psychology and the Careers and Counseling Centre, Emergency Response Team and student volunteering for their significant contributions towards the fight against COVID-19. Prof. Oduro also expressed sincere gratitude to all benefactors for their generous donation to the University to support Management’s effort.

Vice Chancellor - Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu

The guest speaker, Mrs. Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa exhorted the graduands during her address to make good use of opportunities presented them especially as professional in their respective areas of specialization to make themselves, the University of Ghana and Ghana as a whole, proud.

Guest Speaker - Mrs. Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa

Ms. Amanda Nutakor, a graduand from the University of Ghana School of Law delivered the valedictory address on behalf of her cohort.

The ceremony was premiered at 10:00 a.m on all the University’s social media handles.

During the ceremony, 133 students of the University of Ghana School of Law, University of Ghana Medical School and University of Ghana Dental School were presented. Other ceremonies are planned in the course of the year to graduate the rest of the cohort of the 2019-2020 graduating class.

Congratulations to all our graduands. You make us proud.