The Savannah region is to get its own university of science and technology, with President John Dramani Mahama confirming on Friday that $30 million from the Chinese government has already been secured toward its construction, and that a further $100 million from other financing institutions is being finalised.
President Mahama made the announcement during the sod-cutting ceremony for the Bole 24-hour Economy Market, one of the stops on his two-day Resetting Ghana working tour of the Savannah region.
He said a site inspection is planned ahead of a formal groundbreaking to commence construction.
The university will be the first of its kind in the region, which has historically lagged behind other parts of the country in terms of access to higher education.
President Mahama framed the project as part of a broader push to bring the northern regions level with the rest of Ghana in terms of development and opportunity.
The university announcement came alongside a cluster of other education projects the President outlined for the area.
A new college of education with a 1,500-student capacity, funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund, had its sod cut earlier the same day in Bole.
A new STEM secondary school is being built in Tinga, and a technical and vocational education and training centre is coming to Kulmasa.
Yapei is also earmarked for a new secondary school.
President Mahama said education remains one of the most direct routes out of poverty for communities in the Savannah region, and that the concentration of new institutions being built in the area reflects his administration’s intention to change the development trajectory of the north.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
