The Bolgatanga Polytechnic was among other three polytechnics that did not meet the conversion requirements for technical universities, but Rockson Bukari said the school could become a technical university this year (2017).

Speaking to Citi News on the 6oth Independence Day parade in Bolgatanga, the regional minister, Rockson Bukari, said the Minister for Education, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh gave him the assurance.

“When I visited the Education Minister Dr. Prempeh in his office, he told me the conversion committee for technical university was assiduously working on the conversion process and that by September this year, the committee will present its report to him and the Bolgatanga Polytechnic will be turned into a technical university.

…And I know he will do it because he (Dr.Prempeh) has assured me that, the Bolgatanga Polytechnic will be converted into a technical university this year” he stated.

Mr. Bukari added that, the technical university will guarantee access to young people in the region to acquire employable technical skills for the development of region.

“…With the NPP’s policies like the One District One Factory, One Village One Dam among others, the region will get 13 factories and you have technical men manning these factories, it will create jobs for the youth and improve the living standards of people in the region.”

Improving sanitation in the region

Mr. Bukari disclosed that, radical measures will be taken under his administration to curb the menace of open defecation and unsanitary conditions in the region.

According to a 2016 United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) report, the Upper East Region recorded the highest open defecation rate of 89 percent, but Rockson Bukari underscored the need for tough decisions to reverse the trend.

He bemoaned the sad state of the region’s sanitation, attributing it to weak enforcement of sanitation By-laws of various assemblies.

He hinted that, stores, lorry stations and other business centers will be closed down for failing to keep their surroundings clean.

“The sanitation in the Upper East Region is very sad particularly the region’s capital, Bolgatanga. When we are able to put our chief executives in place, I will give them the support to improve the sanitation situation. This open defecation in the region is not the best for us, everywhere smells and it’s not the best. What we can do now is that, all stores and lorry stations must clean from their locations to the nearest streets and gutters respectively or be closed down.”

“I will also support the assemblies to strictly enforce their sanitation By-laws because the laws are there, but not well enforced. We must also empower the courts to deal with sanitation issues to serve as deterrent to others,” he stated.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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