Government has taken a swipe at the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo Addo for condemning its approach in converting Polytechnics into Technical Universities.
Nana Addo, addressing students at the Cape Coast Polytechnic during his Central regional tour, slammed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration for adopting what he calls a piecemeal approach in the conversion, and promised to convert all 10 Polytechnics into Technical Universities if he is elected President.
However in a statement, a Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary, Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwah said Nana Addo is being disingenuous.
“It seems strange that Nana Addo is the only Ghanaian claiming not to know that the vision and agenda of President Mahama is to convert all ten polytechnics into technical universities. Unfortunately for Nana Addo, incontrovertible evidence abounds pointing to the fact that President Mahama has consistently indicated that all ten polytechnics will be converted.”
“It is worth noting that Nana Addo’s attack on what he calls a piecemeal approach is an attack on experts and stakeholders in higher education who unanimously recommended to government to avoid a wholesale conversion in order not to compromise the integrity of the conversion process. Our conversion process has thus been guided by technical experts. Very sadly, Nana Addo’s advisors continue to let him down,” the statement added.
Nana Addo slams Mahama
According to Nana Addo, government’s decision to convert some polytechnics while neglecting others has created some challenges.
“We cannot do this policy piecemeal. Either you are doing it for everybody, or you are not doing it at all. We can’t have a situation where some are picked and some are left out of the process. It is not a good idea. Let us make sure that all the polytechnics in our country, in each of the regions, have the same infrastructure and the same level of development. Then we can make the transition for all of them. But pick some and leave some out, then you are disadvantaging and destabilizing the ones that you have left out,” he said.
“Everything that John Mahama does, there is no proper preparation and there is no proper follow through of the idea”, Nana Akufo-Addo assured the students of Cape Coast polytechnic that “when we get the chance (in 2017), we are going to make sure we do all together as one,” he added.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin