Poly conversions political propaganda – Prof. Fobih

A former Minister of Education in the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Prof Dominic Fobih, has stated that the conversion of some polytechnics in the country to technical universities by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has not been carried out as the laws of the country require.

He said the appropriate procedures had not been followed regarding the transformation of such institutions and that declarations by the president converting some polytechnics to varsities were only “pronouncements”.

“In the current state where the polytechnics are being converted to technical universities, I believe in the first place, in terms of law, it is not right. It is political propaganda because there is a procedure to go through before a tertiary institution can be said to have been converted to a university,” the former Assin South MP stated on Accra100.5FM’s morning show, Ghana Yensom, on Wednesday April 20.

“But as we speak, I hear there is a bill in parliament but the Education Committee has not seen the bill to deliberate on it to be considered for approval by parliament. So, you cannot just say you have transformed any polytechnic to a technical university. It’s not done that way, it’s not by word of mouth: presidential pronouncements do not make such institutions automatic [varsities]. That is not what is done.”

Prof Fobih explained that there were requirements to be satisfied by any institution wishing to be upgraded to university, adding that such entities would, even if they made the cut, be transformed first to university colleges prior to attaining full university statuses.

Such requirements, the former legislator told C.J. Forson, host of the show, included having a minimum number of structures which can host some departments to “enhance tertiary education”. He also spoke of the need for those institutions to have qualified staff for teaching at technical universities, as well as the appropriate curriculum and degree programmes to match their fit.

According to him, these were necessary to ensure that the quality of education in any technical university being intended would be the same in any part of the world, to equip its products with the relevant skills for the job market.

He stated that the National Accreditation Board would also need to assess the facilities of each of the institutions being upgraded to technical universities, with recognition from the National Council for Tertiary Education before the polytechnics fully roll out the courses.

Six polytechnics have been selected for conversion to technical universities across the country. These include the Accra, Kumasi, Koforidua, Takoradi, Ho, and Sunyani polytechnics.

President Mahama has already inaugurated the Takoradi and Koforidua technical universities with the rest due to follow soon.