The Love Story of UDS and founder Rawlings
The University for Development Studies (UDS) is approaching twenty-five (25) years old.
A lot has taken place since forty (40) students begun studies in 1993. The University has moved on to have four (4) campuses; Wa Campus, Navrongo Campus, Nyankpala Campus and Dungu/Tamale Campus.
Also read: UDS STARTED IN BORROWED CLASSROOMS
The UDS was established by the Government of Ghana in May, 1992 with a mandate to “blend the academic world with that of the community in order to provide constructive interaction between the two for total development of Northern Ghana in particular and the country as a whole” (PNDC Law 279, Section 2).
The establishment of the UDS was greatly supported personally by the then President of Ghana, J. J. Rawlings.
In 2013, His Excellency J. J. Rawlings was conferred with an honorary Doctorate of letters as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the university. Dr. A. B Salifu, Chairman of the UDS council during the conferment stated that “for us in UDS, Rawlings is a Hero”.
Part of the citation read:
while others said it was unnecessary and waste of resources at the time to set up another public university, you were not discouraged but pushed us to ensure that UDS came into being.
Later the same year on 11 December, it was announced that Nyankpala Campus Library was named after H.E Rawlings
The university also have built a monument (the first and only one by the UDS) on the Nyankpala Campus to immortalise the ex-president and celebrate his efforts in establishing the university.
HOW DID RAWLINGS GAIN ALL THIS?
Former President Jerry John Rawlings, as part of his desire to expand university education in the country particularly, the North, freely donated a US$ 50,000 award from the Hunger Project he won in 1993 to help towards the growth of the University for Development Studies.
SO WHAT WAS HIS RESPONSE?
At the convocation in 2013 H.E Jerry John Rawlings said;
True democracy cannot exist in a vacuum; it must be accompanied by systems that make democracy relevant to peoples’ needs. I have come to understand and believe that the University for Development Studies is “an innovative community of learning designed to energize, empower and engage rural communities and youth into driving their development.” This University has therefore been designed in such a manner that it affords the students the opportunity to spend 1 year out of 4 years in the communities, through the third trimester community learning effort. They stay in villages, under the supervision of their Professors — eating with community members, drinking their water, and learning their stories of life’s struggles. University students become real learners from their less-privileged elders, yet, they benefit from the richness of village history and culture. In turn, they start developing solutions that are relevant to the real needs and aspirations of the people.The structure of UDS is also unique. You are the only university with campuses in all 3 regions of Northern Ghana. This promotes harmony and unity, and allows young people to grow up and learn the cultures of others, without boundaries. I urge you to preserve this structure of UDS. I do not oppose each region having an additional regional university, but please preserve UDS. You can always have more without dismantling the original university in its unique cross-regional dimension
FULL SPEECH AND VIDEO HERE
RAWLINGS UDS?
The contribution of “Papa J” has led to several calls for the University to be named after him.
I have said before and I will repeat it without fear of contradiction. I have advocated strongly and I think someday this university, in my honest view, must be dedicated to honour President Jerry John Rawlings” – Haruna Iddrisu (2013)
Read more: THE RAWLINGS & UDS LOVE STORY: “for us in UDS, Rawlings is a Hero” - UDS360 http://uds360.com/2017/03/05/rawlingsuds/#ixzz5FbIbOZCF
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