Management of the University of Ghana has announced that virtual graduation ceremonies will be held for undergraduate students who completed their programmes of study during the 2020/2021 academic year.

The January 2022 hybrid congregation will be held from Tuesday, January 11 to Saturday, January 15, 2022. Only graduate students will be accommodated physically for the graduation ceremonies.

The virtual congregation for undergraduates has been necessitated by the prevailing national safety guidelines for meetings involving large numbers as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

A message from the school's management explained that although the graduands would have wished to converge on campus with friends and family, the events have to be redesigned in the wake of COVID-19 to safeguard the health of all stakeholders.

"We would have loved to host all our graduating students in face-to-face congregation ceremonies to afford them the opportunity to celebrate this milestone in-person with their colleagues, and in the presence of friends and family."

"However, the University, mindful of the need to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and given the large numbers of graduating students, is able to accommodate only graduate students physically during the January 2022 Congregation ceremonies," part of the notice outlined.

That notwithstanding, "rigorous efforts have been made to ensure that the virtual congregation ceremonies for undergraduate students encapsulate all the activities that usually take place during face-to-face ceremonies, and we trust that our undergraduate students will be able to participate in the virtual ceremonies, with their friends and families."

Students who wish to be present during the January 2022 congregation ceremonies are required to ensure that all outstanding financial obligations have been fulfilled.

They are to register online between Monday, December 20, 2021 and Thursday, January 6, 2022. Each graduand will be required to pay a graduation fee of GH¢250.

“Payment may be made through Mobile Money, Visa/MasterCard, enabled Debit/Credit cards on the Congregation registration portal, and at any branch of Ecobank Ghana Limited," the University stated.

Students have also been encouraged to ensure that every action they undertake is grounded in ethically sound convictions and expressed in service to society.

The University of Ghana held its maiden virtual graduation ceremonies in 2020, following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

In July 2021, the school held another virtual ceremony for a cohort of 106 Law students from the University of Ghana School of Law, College of Humanities and 37 students from the University of Ghana Medical and Dental Schools, College of Health Sciences.