The Technical Committee on the conversion of polytechnics to technical universities has resolved to progressively convert all polytechnics into technical universities by September 2016.
According to the committee, Polytechnics will only be accredited to a technical university, if they satisfy the requirements of becoming a technical university.
Speaking to Citi News on the sidelines of the presentation of the committee`s report in Accra on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Committee, Dr. George Afeti indicated that the conversion will be a phased program.
[contextly_sidebar id=”HCEWiFDijNQ7rldRkxrOpRk1vRQZ2FPY”]According to him, “after September 2016, everything will depend on the Polytechnics.”
The conversion of polytechnic into technical universities was one of the manifesto promises of the Mahama administration ahead of the 2012 elections.
The purpose of the transformation of all polytechnics into technical universities is to bridge the gap between academia and industry.
It is also geared towards training students with employable skills for economic transformation in the country.
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday chaired a stakeholder forum aimed at working out modalities to convert Polytechnics into Technical Universities.
The forum which was under the theme “Repositioning technical education as a driver of economic transformation and national development” assembled top academicians and educationalists across the country to devise measures to ensure the conversion.
Funding Issues
He said one major challenge that has hindered the coversion of polytechnics into universities are challenges with funding
“The issue of funding is a great challenge. You heard me mention 9,000 ghana cedis. Well this is only 50 percent of what the general programme require. 9,000 ghana cedis is not too much to ask for, that is why you must go slowly, that is why you must have a phased programme where the few polytechnics that become technical universities can benefit from adequate funding
Meanwhile a former Director–General of the Ghana Education Service, Professor Jerome Djangmah, is cautioning government to be committed to the provision of adequate infrastructure and funding that will make the conversion a reality.
“How it works out is going to depend on the commitment of government so we hope that the government is committed and we find the resources so they develop it in a way that we want them to,” he stated.
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By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana