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| Inauguration of Technical Universities in Ghana. |
Technical universities have been urged to be
different from the traditional universities in terms of offering practical
oriented teaching.
The minister of Education Prof. Opoku-Agyeman
stressed that when the technical universities were up and running, “we expect
the differences between them and the traditional universities to be manifestly
clear.”
She made this known at the inauguration of eight technical universities
in Ghana. They are Cape Coast Technical University; Takoradi Technical
University; Suyani Technical University; Kumasi Technical University; Koforidua
Technical University; Tamale Technical University; Accra Technical University;
and Ho Technical University.
She hinted that the success or otherwise of the
entire endeavour would hinge on how successfully the transition was handled.
Prof. Opoku-Agyeman explained that the
inauguration became possible by the passage of the Technical Universities Act,
2016 (Act 922) by Parliament, which was given Presidential assent on August 31,
2016.
She said with the law in place, it was left with
the actual process and steps of transforming the institutional set-up and
governance systems of the polytechnics to reflect the attributes of the
envisaged technical universities.
Prof. Opoku-Agyeman observed that the traditional
universities in the country continued to be mainly knowledge-driven, focusing
on fundamental research and graduate studies and keeping a more disciplined
approach to learning and promotion.
“You are here to fulfil a fundamentally different
mission from those of our traditional universities, somehow bogged down by
history and practice,” she said.
The Executive Secretary of the National Council for
Tertiary Education (NCTE), Prof. Mohammed Salifu, who outlined the transitional
steps and arrangements for implementation, explained that the governing
councils for the polytechnics designated as technical universities had, with
immediate effect, become interim councils of the respective technical
universities.
He said harmonised statutes and scheme of service
for technical universities were being developed by a committee chaired by the
NCTE, with representation from the Conference of Rectors of Polytechnics in
Ghana (CORP).
He added that as part of the transitional steps,
the technical universities were directed to develop programmes only in the core
mandated area, adding that all existing programmes were to be vetted for their
skills content.
The Council Chair of the NCTE, Prof. Clifford Nii
Boi Tagoe, recalled what the NCTE had done in the cause of the transition and
was grateful to the Ministry of Education and the team for their continuous
support.
The CORP Chairman, Prof. Abdulai Salifu Asuro,
stated that the decision to convert the polytechnics into technical
universities was never a mistake and that CORP believed it would materialise.
Credit ( MOE)
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