Rector of Tamale Polytechnic has called on government to adequately resource the school to ensure quality education for accelerated national development. Alhaji Dr Yakubu Peligah noted that facilities at the school are woefully inadequate hence the need for government’s urgent intervention. Alhaji Peligah made these remarks in his welcome address on Saturday January 24,2009 during the 14th matriculation ceremony of the Polytechnic in Tamale for the 2008-2009 batch of newly admitted students.
According to him, the Polytechnic received a total of 2,140 applicants for the various programmes this year however the school was able to admit only 1,809 applicants. This comprised of 1,254 males and 555 females.
He said in the Craft category (programme) that included Fashion, Carpentry & Joinery, Catering, Agric, Electrical Engineering, Radio & TV and Mechanical Engineering, out of a total of 476 applicants, the polytechnic admitted 451 students comprising 173 females and 278 males. Out of 682 applicants for the Diploma in Business Studies programme that consist of Secretaryship, Accounting, Marketing, about 617 qualified for admission comprising 325 females and 292 males, the Rector said.
For Higher National Diploma programmes, also consisting of Accountancy, Secretariat & Management, Marketing, Statistics, Visual Arts (Industrial Arts), Mechanical Engineering, Building Technology, Agric Engineering, the Tamale Polytechnic Rector said out 2,140 applicants, a total of 1,809 qualified students were admitted. The Polytechnic also admitted a total of 203 students into its Advanced programme, made up of 138 females and 65 males. Alhaji Peligah expressed worry on the low enrolment figures of female students, adding that, the problem needed some serious pragmatic steps to increase the figures in the next couple of years.
He also observed that, enrolment figures show large numbers in the Business programmes as against engineering stating “I wish to note that, some initial steps have already been taken towards increasing the numbers in the engineering programmes”. According to him, a pre-HND has been introduced for only students from technical programmes to encourage them to move up to the HND level.
Plans are also advanced to enrol other lecturers of the Tamale Polytechnic into other Universities in the country so that they would pursue Masters programmes that would enable the school to chalk up some success in the years ahead.
He therefore, advised the matriculants to abide by the rules and regulations of the school and learn hard to come out as responsible professionals. On behalf of the institution and its Governing Council, Alhaji Peligah expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the President, John Evans Atta Mills for his successful and peaceful election as president of the country.
