The Minister for Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman, has
underlined the need for the nation to refrain from duplicating existing
university, in its effort to upgrade other tertiary institutions into a
university status, adding that differentiation is very important.The minister made the when a committee set up to develop a road map to turn polytechnics into technical universities presented its report to her in Accra.
Prof Opoku-Agyemang said Ghana can learn from other nations if it becomes necessary to source information about how others do it otherwise the differentiation would have no meaning.
She said that polytechnics were set up for a specific purpose and so deviating from the core mandate would not help in the development of the country.
According to the Minister, the major mandate of polytechnics should not be sacrificed on the altar of a few who want to move in a certain way. These things, she noted, should guide the committee in its deliberations and should be articulated properly. This would emphasis the Ministry’s interest in ensuring that national resources get the optimum results.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said she wanted to see a technical university where students are producing, adding that thinking and theorizing are all part of production. “The person must understand the reason behind what he is doing otherwise he will just do it any how”.
Prof Opoku-Agyemeng hoped the report provided a road map to guide the Ministry to work on, and expressed her gratitude to the committee, noting that their input is crucial.
Dr. George Afeti, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Inspectorate Board (NIB), and the Chairman for the Committee, presenting the report to the Minister, said the committee looked at what it would take to develop a polytechnic into university with emphasis on technical university and also the linkage with industry.
He said three important criteria were developed. The first was that there must be clear evidence of concrete partnership with industry regarding all the programmes that would be ran at the technical degree level.
The second recommendation made by the committee was that Ghana should study the University of Applied Sciences in Germany, which the committee studied, saying that Ghana can learn from the German system.
The third recommendation was that the new technical universities should not mimic the traditional universities, but rather cut a niche for themselves by supporting small and medium enterprises, through technology exchanges, provide technology installations businesses, and companies should be the focus of technical universities.
These universities should continue to run certificate diploma courses alongside degree programmes for an avenue of progression for apprentices who would looked up to the technical graduates and aspire to be like them and develop their skills at the higher level.
On financial implications, the committee suggested that for polytechnics to attain degree status as technical universities, about GHc540 million would be required by the polytechnics a year for the next couple of years to be at a level that would qualify them as universities.
The committee observed that it was time for Ghana to have technical universities systems and has indicated
steps, which need to be taken to ensure that technical universities do not deviate from the primary functions of training and highly skilled technical people to support the economy.
The committee was set up by the Ministry in September last year to help develop a road map for the conversion of the polytechnics into technical universities in line with government intension and the NDC’s party manifesto.
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Source;Government of Ghana and ghanaonlinenews
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