A former rector of Ho
polytechnic and the Chairman for the technical committee on the conversion of
polytechnics to technical universities, Dr G. M. Afeti, has underscored the
need for adequate funding for the training of students of the proposed
converted polytechnics, to make the system comparable with international
standards.
According to him, there was
the need to bridge the huge gap between the current funding levels, adding that
the government currently spent less than GH¢3,000 per year on a student in a
polytechnic in the country, while in Germany, for example, the government spent
the cedi equivalent of between GH¢15,000 and GH¢21,000 on every student in a
university of applied sciences per year.
Dr Afeti, who had just
returned from a study tour of technical universities in Germany, was delivering
a paper on the topic, “Upgrading of Polytechnic to Technical Universities:
Prospects and Challenges”, to mark the launch of the Students Representative
(SRC) Week of the Ho Polytechnic in Ho earlier this month.
Eligibility
for conversion
He said each polytechnic
should be considered on its own merit against an agreed set of eligibility criteria
and that a knowledgeable implementation panel might be constituted to confirm
the eligibility of each polytechnic for conversion to technical university
status.
Some of the eligibility
requirement mentioned were institutional, teaching staff and collaboration with
industry, adding that a department should be headed by at least a senior
lecturer preferably with a PhD., in addition to the department having three
full-time lecturers with at least research masters degrees and at least one of
who must have professional or work place experience.
Dr Afeti noted that the
proposal to convert polytechnics into technical universities had political,
academic, technical and financial dimensions and loaded with a lot of prospects
and challenges.
Justification
for conversion
He said the rationale and
justification for converting the polytechnics to technical universities
included repositioning the polytechnics as strategic institutions for the
training of highly skilled human resource to drive economic growth; and
enhancing the image of the polytechnics and the attractiveness of technical and
vocational education and training.
He disclosed that converted
polytechnics or future technical universities in Ghana were to be modelled
along the lines of the University of Applied Sciences (UAS) in Germany or
Universities of Technology in South Africa or the Technical Universities in
Kenya.
Dr Afeti cautioned that the
reform process should be undertaken strategically with success as the objective
and that past mistakes associated with the upgrading of the polytechnics to
tertiary status in 1992 should be avoided.
The Rector of the Ho
polytechnic, Dr Jakpasu Victor Kofi Afun, said the polytechnic was virtually
qualified for the conversion and by the end of the year, it would acquire
accreditation to increase the award of B-Tech programmes from four to seven.
Credit: Tim Dzamboe/Graphic Online
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