The President of the Central University College, Professor Kwesi Yankah has urged government to rethink its decision to convert all polytechnics into technical universities.
He explained that, if the idea is implemented, the country risks returning “home one day to find a missing generation of middle level skillful technicians, who had been replaced by a set of theoretical skills.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”LoxHEglyqjiRxYMkoi93UbAkADQrz75N”]Professor Yankah was delivering the keynote address at the formal opening of the Eighth Annual International Applied Research Conference of the Koforidua Polytechnic at Koforidua.
The conference is under the theme “Applied Research, Essential for National Development” and it is being organized in collaboration with the Methodist University, with the participation of many research scientists and students from the Koforidua Polytechnic.
He said though the founders of the country saw the need for a strong scientific research base for the development of the country, which saw the establishment of the Ghana Academic of Arts and Sciences and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, one would have expected Ghana to have a strong research output.
Professor Yankah called for a strong relationship between tertiary institutions and industry and also advocated for the intensification of relationship between the industrial hub of Tema, North Kaneshie Industrial Area, Suame Magazine, Kokompe and the communication hub with the tertiary and research institutions in the country.
He urged tertiary institutions to formulate internship programmes that would ensure trainees are immersed in the world of work and develop the passion for the work of industry.
He advised tertiary institutions to institutionalize tracer studies to enable them to follow-up on the progress of their graduates in the employment world, to determine the adequacy and relevance of their training to help them improve their curriculum.
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Source: GNA