Dr Yaw Adutwum, Education Minister
• The students say Takoradi Technical University run a programme in affiliation with three institutions
• Their certificates however had no reference to institutions the univeristy is affiliated with in that regard
• But the PRO of the university explains that it received accreditation in 2020 to independently run the course, hence the decision
Some students of the Takoradi Technical University (TTU) have rejected the Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering certificates issued to them by the university upon completion of the programme in 2020.
They argued that before they enrolled for the course in August 2018, the authorities of TTU told them it had not secured an accreditation to independently run the course.
Therefore, TTU was running the programme in affiliation with the Cape Coast Technical University (CTU) and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA.
However, upon completion of the programme in July 2020 and graduation in October, TTU issued them the certificates without any reference to CTU and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of TTU, has rejected the assertions and said that the institution was clothed with the mandate to issues the certificates.
Mr Kow Richardson-Nketsiah, the PRO, in a reaction to the aggrieved students’ concerns, told the GNA that, although the university was running the programme in affiliation with the Cape Coast Technical University, it received accreditation last year to independently run the course.
Therefore, the TTU was cloaked with the power to issue the certificates to the students despite being enrolled before receiving the accreditation.
He said the grading system used for assessing the students was not different from the one used by the CTU.
More so, it was the lecturers of TTU who taught the students and marked their scripts.
He pledged the university’s readiness to engage the aggrieved students for further discussion.
Mr Justice Ato Bentil, the Course Leader for the 2020 batch, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that, the aggrieved students would use every legal means and appropriate avenue to compel the authorities of TTU to issue them the right certificates.
He said the grading system and syllabus used during the duration of the course came from CTU and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University, therefore, they expected the certificates to be issued by those institutions and not TTU.
The Course Leader explained that though the aggrieved students had met the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of TTU, Prof. Victor Kwaku Bondze Micah, on the issue, nothing concrete came out of the meeting.
Checks by the GNA at the National Accreditation Board (NAB) revealed that NAB issued accreditation to the TTU on May 7, 2020, to run Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering (Production Option).
The accreditation certificate number -NAB/1AC/003187 takes effect from May 11, 2020, and expires on May 10, 2023.
A letter sighted by the GNA indicated that the TTU terminated its affiliation with the Cape Coast Technical University on March 2, 2021.
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