The University of Ghana (UG), Legon would from the 2008/2009 academic year offer courses relating to the Chinese language and culture. To that end a Memorandum of Understanding between the UG and the Chinese Language Council in Beijing would be signed for the commencement of the programme. The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe announced this last Saturday during a congregation ceremony held on the institution's premises in Accra. Prof Tagoe said the Council would dispatch two Chinese teachers to the university in August this year to support the programme, and lauded the Chinese Embassy in Accra for facilitating such a move. He mentioned that to enhance the role of UG as a global leader in higher education, a Visitation Panel had been invited to review the university's academic and administrative structures and make recommendations, adding that the move would precipitate major changes to reflect the status of the leading university. Prof. Tagoe said government continued to remain the major benefactor of the university through releases from the Consolidated Fund (CF) and the GETFund, and called on government to consider making direct budgetary allocation to the institution for Capital Investment in fixed infrastructure and equipment since the GETFund is meant to be supplementary to the releases from the CF. He said accreditation processes were nearing completion to enable the university to establish a School of Pharmacy within the College of Health Sciences, saying the school would continue to provide professional training for Pharmacists and further admit its first batch of undergraduate students next academic year. The VC mentioned that the total student enrolment of the university for the 2007/2008 academic year was 29, 976 with females constituting 40.23 percent, and that lack of infrastructural facilities remained a major problem facing the premier university. He stressed that many qualified applicants continued to be turned down by the university due to the unfortunate situation, and further called on government to provide assistance for expansion of facilities in both private and public institutions to arrest the situation. The Minister for Education, Science and Sports, Prof Dominic Fobih said one of the major roles of universities was the generation and dissemination of knowledge through research, and pledged government's assistance to making teaching and learning a priority in the country's universities. Prof. Fobih bemoaned the poor relationship between the country's universities and industries, saying the interface had not been well structured to facilitate regular interaction between the two. The Minister said government would provide the necessary framework to encourage healthy relationship to that effect and further provide encouragement to tertiary institutions for the promotion of distance education in the country as a way of increasing enrolment. In all, 7,277 students, 1, 835 of which were presented in November last year, graduated for the 2006/2007 academic year. Of the number 484 were in the sub-degree categorv (diploma and certificate), 4, 791 undergraduates, and 167 post graduates. The post graduates included eight Doctor of Philosophy graduands, bringing the total for the year to 17. Sixteen percent of the diplomates obtained distinctions, 11.66 percent obtained first class degrees; 35.42 percent had second class upper while 45.97 percent got second class lower. Source: Daily Guide