Mr. Kofi Opoku Manu, Ashanti Regional Minister, on Wednesday said government has planned to establish a School of Allied Science and a University of Energy, to help improve the manpower needs of the country. He said it was the wish of government to absorb greater percentage of the funding tertiary education to enable more students to pursue higher courses at that level. Mr. Manu said these in a speech read on his behalf at the opening of the Seventh Annual Congress of the University Student’s Association (USAG), at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in Kumasi. The three-day event is on the theme: “Funding University Education in Ghana–Obligation of State, Corporate Institutions and Students.” Mr. Manu said government has intended to review the Social Security and National Insurance (SSNIT), students’ loan scheme to meet the needs of beneficiaries. He said the GETfund would be used to expand and improve infrastructure in educational institutions. Mr. Manu said the government would involve students and other stakeholders in the formulation of education policies to solve problems facing universities in the country. He advised students to avoid strikes and demonstrations, which could affect their academic calendar, and adopt consultation and diplomacy in settling disputes. Dr. Joesph Samuel Annan, Deputy Minister of Education, said that government has allocated 35 per cent of the national budget for education, which according to him was the highest in Sub-Sahara Africa. He urged individuals, Churches, organizations and parents to support tertiary education since government alone could not shoulder the huge funding of the sector. Mr. Maxwell Ofosu Boakye, President of USAG, said the association played vital role in resolving conflicts at the University of Development Studies (UDS), the Islamic University and the Katanga Hall of KNUST last year. Mrs. Vesta Adu Gyanfi, Vice Dean of Students Affairs of KNUST, urged beneficiaries of the SSNIT loan scheme to repay the package to enable others to benefit from the scheme. Source: GNA