New Tertiary placement policy coming - Prof. Yankah

Government is considering implementing a new placement policy for admissions into tertiary institutions across the country.

The Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, revealed this at a three-day workshop to deliberate on the draft Tertiary Education Policy Document in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital over the weekend.

According to him, the draft policy document, submitted by the nine-member committee, chaired by Professor Cliff Tagoe, would serve as a reference for tertiary education in the country.

Prof. Yankah explained that the whole project forms part of the Ministry of Education’s plans to transform the education sector in line with the vision of government.

He said the Ministry of Education is fully committed to improving higher education in Ghana, adding that the Tertiary Education Policy Document would ensure institutional compliance and minimize irregularities and deviations.

He said visits had been made to UK and Nigeria by the Ministry of Education and Vice Chancellors and Registrars to understudy how the system works in the two countries.

He revealed that a national committee for centralized admissions into universities to be chaired by Prof. Adow Obeng, former Vice Chancellor of University of Cape Coast and current President of Presbyterian University College, would be formally inaugurated on Thursday, January 17, 2019 to facilitate the process.

Prof. Jonathan N. Ayertey said the draft policy document would cover institutional governance, equity and access, quality and relevance, admissions, entry requirements, credit conversion, programme development, among others.

During the forum, the committee proposed a Centralized University admissions and Placement Service (CAPS) to replace the current stressful and expensive system.

Meanwhile, the document would be submitted to the government for further consideration and approval.

The participants included Vice Chancellors of all state universities, officials of the Ministry of Education, representatives of regulatory bodies, including the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), National Accreditation Board (NAB), National Board for Professional and Technician Examinations (NABTEX).

The rest were the Conference of Rectors and Vice Chancellors of Technical Universities, University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU), Education Reform Secretariat of the Ministry of Education and some celebrated educationists in Ghana.