The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the University College of Management Studies (UCOMS) says the government must as a matter of urgency support private universities in the country. Dr Sazrar Opata is convinced that the nation’s desire to train adequately its human resource will remain a mirage unless the government, through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GET-Fund), proactively supports the development and expansion of private training institutions. After all, the human capital that is trained by private institutions contribute significantly to the development of the nation, he told Joy News’ Fiifi Coomson. One major challenge undermining education in the country, he said, is the unavailability of modern books. He has consequently challenged the GETFund to establish a modern bookshop in the country. “The GETFund can set up a big bookshop – the books shouldn’t be free so they are not going to lose – the students should be made to pay half of the price of the books,” he said, adding this bookshop will provide students of both public and private institutions “with enough material for research.” To buttress his point, Dr Opata cited Purchasing and Supply course being run by his institution which he said is one course whose books are extremely difficult to come by. According to him, books on the course are available at only one bookshop in the country and even then, some of the salient modern books on the course are not in good stock. The Board Chairman said graduates of UCOMS working at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) were constantly hailed as being good on their job but “they are products of a private university.” Touching on the cost of private university education, Dr Opata said it is not as expensive as the public thought. He said given the sort of courses run and the quality of teaching and the infrastructure provided by private universities, the cost is very reasonable. UCOMS, formerly the Institute of Management Studies (IMS), a Tutorial College which prepared students for professional qualifications (certificates) in Marketing (Chartered Institute of Marketing - CIM), Accounting (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants - ACCA) and Purchasing and Supply (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply - CIPS), was established in 1978. The school’s website says “Students have since 1978 been taking United Kingdom external examinations in these professions.” Play the attached audio for excerpts of the interview Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana