The Provost of the College of Art and Built Environment (CABE) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Christian Koranteng, has launched a college-wide student support programme dubbed the CABE Lift Programme.
The programme aims to provide financial, academic and welfare assistance to financially constrained students.
To operationalise the initiative, the Provost constituted a six-member committee comprising faculty representatives from the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Arts, and the Faculty of the Built Environment, as well as the President of the CABE Students’ Association (CABESSA).
The committee was tasked with designing a framework to support financially challenged students while also developing their entrepreneurial skills.
The Provost noted that the programme builds on an earlier scheme introduced during his tenure as Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment.
“And some of us here may recall that, in my earlier role as a Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment within this college, we operated what was then known as the Dean’s Fund. It was modest, but this initiative was meaningful and designed to provide relief to needy students within the faculty. I recall we were able to help more than 200 students, so that was a good thing,” he recalled.
According to him, the success of that scheme informed the expansion of the concept to cover the entire college.
“And so, this initiative or idea, of course, gave birth to what we now call the CABE Lift Programme. I felt a profound responsibility that would no longer be limited to a faculty, but rather to the whole college, touching on our three main faculties,” he added.
He described the CABE Lift Programme as a structured and sustainable platform for supporting students across the college.
“And this programme, ladies and gentlemen, is a college-wide student welfare initiative that is designed to create a structured and sustainable avenue through which material, academic and counselling assistance can be channelled directly to students who are in need, and, of course, their faculties and departments within the college,” he explained.
Outlining its guiding philosophy, the Provost noted that the programme is anchored on a transformative vision, stating: “It is to lift, it is to empower, and it is to transform.”
He added that a key component of the programme is equipping students with entrepreneurial skills to promote self-reliance and long-term impact.
“We believe in nurturing the strength of possibility by equipping students with entrepreneurial skills and fostering a mindset of innovation. With that, we can empower all of us to transform our lives, become providers of service, and be in a position to even support others. This ripple effect ensures that the cycle of health and hope continues,” he emphasised.
He also disclosed that the college will host a charity week from March 24th to March 27th to raise support for the programme.
“During this week, staff, students, alumni, and friends of CABE are all encouraged to donate whatever we have and can. And I believe that it’s going to go a long way to change our students,” he said.
The Provost commended the chairman of the programme’s committee, Dr Stephen Appiah Takyi, and his team for their role in developing the programme.
“Let’s applaud Dr Stephen Takyi and his team for the wonderful work. Without him, I don’t know where the CABE Lift programme would have been, and he did so well when we started this initiative at the Faculty level,” he noted.
He emphasised that the programme seeks not only to provide immediate relief but also to empower beneficiaries to support others in the future.
“Today, this is exactly what we want to do by showing our love, by extending our hand, by empowering our students, showing them skills, showing them how to lift themselves and how they can become lifters in themselves,” he concluded.
