Accra: The Accelerated GETFund Infrastructure Completion Initiative, an intervention by the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), to address the university's long-standing infrastructure deficits, is yielding significant results.
According to Ghana News Agency, the initiative, which commenced in 2025, has helped to complete an auditorium, a four-storey interim central administration block, a cafeteria, a fire station, and a lecturers' common room for the institution. The initiative is also aimed at enabling the University to draw on its Internally Generated Fund (IGF) and other funding sources to accelerate the completion of selected priority GETFund-initiated projects.
Professor Emmanuel Kanchebe Derbile, the Vice-Chancellor of the SDD-UBIDS, announced at the University's 4th congregation in Wa that these facilities were part of some decade-old uncompleted GETFund projects in the school. The SDD-UBIDS graduated a total of 2,183 students at its 4th Congregation, including 688 postgraduate students, comprising ten Doctors of Philosophy (PhDs), 30 MPhils, and over 500 MSc students, as well as 1,495 undergraduates and diploma holders.
"This remarkable achievement underscores the University's commitment to academic excellence, research, and professional development in producing skilled graduates ready to contribute to national and global development," Prof. Derbile explained. He expressed appreciation to the University's Governing Council for its leadership and support in advancing the initiative.
Prof. Derbile also announced that the proposal and curriculum for a proposed School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences had been completed and were expected to be presented to the University's Council within the year. The proposed programmes under that School included Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, BSc. General Nursing, BSc Midwifery, BSc Public Health Nursing, BSc. Health Promotion, BSc. Public Health Nutrition, and BSc. Environmental Health and Sanitation.
Meanwhile, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, the Deputy Minister of Education, who represented President John Mahama at the Congregation ceremony, reaffirmed the government's commitment to completing all outstanding infrastructure projects at the SDD-UBIDS. He described the University as a strategic pillar in Ghana's quest for balanced national development and said the government had prioritised the completion of ongoing projects in the school to create a conducive academic environment.
Dr Apaak announced a seed capital of GH?50 million from GETFund to operationalise the National Research Fund, which was established in 2017 to strengthen research capacity and support evidence-based policymaking. Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, the Chairperson of the SDD-UBIDS' Governing Council, lauded the University's steady growth and gradual consolidation as a centre of academic excellence, citing the expansion of academic programmes and infrastructure improvement.
"Our participation in national and international forums, growing student enrolment, and vibrant research outputs are clear indications that the University is maturing gracefully and gradually positioning itself as a thought leader in the development discourse of the country and the world at large," he observed. Dr Kunbuor reaffirmed the Council's commitment to working with the University Management to strengthen governance, enhance financial sustainability, and safeguard the academic competitiveness of the institution.
In his valedictory speech, Gabriel Ofori Boateng, the best graduating student, encouraged his colleagues to continue asking questions, learning, and growing wherever they might find themselves.