Accra Polytechnic holds 15th Congregation

The Accra Polytechnic on Saturday held its 15th Congregation during which 4,171 High National Diploma (HND) students, who have successfully completed their programmes, graduated.

The graduands were from three schools: Applied Sciences and Arts, Business and Management Studies, and Engineering.

The awards were classified as; 42 students representing 1.01 per cent had first class, 873 students representing 20.93 per cent had second class upper, 2,762 students representing 66.22 per cent had second class lower, 385 students representing 9.23 per cent had a pass, while 109 students representing 2.61 per cent were 'competent' (design and textiles).

Professor Sylvester Achio, the Rector of Accra Polytechnic, said the institution was bridging the gap between male and female students.

He said the percentage of male and female graduates were 58.45 per cent and 41.55 per cent respectively.

'Whiles we had a 33.40 per cent of Business and Management programmes to 66.60 per cent Science and Engineering programmes the numerical strength is the opposite.

'A high percentage of 68.95 percent of the total number of the graduating students are from the Business School, 16.47 percent from the Sciences and 14.58 percent from the School of Engineering,' he said.

Prof Achio said massive construction works had started on some portions of their newly acquired 130 acre land at Mpehuasem which include four ultramodern Mechanical, Building, Civil, Electrical and Electronics, and Furniture blocks.

'This is one of the Development Skills Initiative Project initiated by government in partnership with the African Development Bank,' he said.

Prof Achio said the Polytechnic Management, with support from the Council, had made enormous progress towards the conversion of polytechnics into technical universities in September.

He said identified challenges were being addressed and cited the congestion on campus as an example which the polytechnic had acquired a 130-acre land to serve as a satellite campus at Mpehuasem.

'Accra Polytechnic becoming a Technical University is good news and a great achievement; but this calls for a greater high sense of responsibility.

'It calls on us to open a new leaf with positive and more innovative approaches to doing things and showing to the world that we are matured,' the Rector said.

He advised the graduands to respect their colleagues at the work place, communicate in a professional and more dignified way and to rationally use their time for home, work, spiritual and social activities.

Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the Minister of Education, in a speech read for her, said government had given financial clearance to a number of institutions to either replace or recruit new staff to make for the gaps in some of those institutions.

She said cabinet had approved the Research Fund Bill and would soon be submitted to Parliament for consideration.

She said the Bill would provide the legislative framework for the establishment of the Fund to support academia and research institutions conducting research relevant to socio-economic development.

Mr Enock Teye Mensah, the Chairman of the Accra Polytechnic Council, said as the premier polytechnic in Ghana, Accra Polytechnic must remain a leader in embracing new developments in terms of the implementation of the Technical University concept.

'The Governing Council and Management are working hard to maintain our position as a competitive institution of higher learning.

'Our goal is not only to maintain our position of higher education in the country and our sub-region, but to provide high quality, affordable and practically relevant training to our clients,' he said.