The University for Development Studies (UDS) has admitted 6,339 students out of the total 19,161 applicants for the 2013/2014 academic year to pursue various undergraduate courses on its four campuses.
This year’s intake represents a 69 per cent increase over the previous year’s figure, which stood at 3,755.
The percentage of female admission was 32 per cent (2,058 female students), which was slightly higher than 31 per cent recorded in the previous year.
The UDS has also admitted 197 students out of a total of 952 applicants for graduate programmes for the academic year, representing a 16 per cent increase over the previous year’s intake.
Professor Haruna Yakubu, Vice Chancellor of UDS announced this at the 21st Matriculation ceremony of the university to formally admit students at its Nyankpala campus on Saturday.
The matriculation ceremony was held simultaneously at all its four campuses including Tamale, Navrongo and Wa.
Prof Yakubu said the significant increase in intake for the academic year was in response to the call by the government and stakeholders for the country’s universities to expand admissions to contain the two streams of West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASCE) graduates, who completed their studies in May-June this year.
The Vice Chancellor said the university could have exceeded its current intake but was constrained by serious infrastructural deficits.
He said: “Our wish was to admit even more students but unfortunately any further increase would have meant that we would be exerting intense pressure on our academic infrastructure and facilities.”
He, therefore, appealed to the government to consider as a matter of priority: “The provision of infrastructure to UDS to enable us further increase our student intake as the University’s contribution towards mopping up the huge numbers of WASCE graduates yearning for admissions into the country’s universities.”
Prof Yakubu also spoke about the dwindling percentage of science students in relation to those pursuing the humanities, arts and business courses, saying this is a matter of concern that must be addressed.
He emphasised “At the nation’s current level of development, and given the need for scientific research and technology as a propellant of development, it is very imperative for emphasis to be placed on the training of scientists in the... universities.”
He suggested an aggressive science and technology based training at the basic and second cycle levels to ensure that more science students are available to apply for studies at the universities.
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