Upgrade of polytechnics won’t be wholesale – Gov’t

Minister of Education Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang says the planned upgrade of polytechnics into universities will not be done on a wholesale scale.

She pointed out that some factors will be considered by the technical committee in executing the exercise.

Among these factors are past performance of the polytechnic concerned and the human resources available, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said.

“We will set our benchmark,” she stressed.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang made these known on TV3’s Hot Issues over the weekend.

She said international experts will be in the country soon to complete assessment of the polytechnics that would be due for the first set of upgrade.

She pointed out that the strike action by the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) had its toll on the itinerary for the exercise as the international experts had to return because the polytechnic teachers were not available for interview.

“I think we stand a chance to turn it around and even do better than we think.”

She also stressed that contrary to widely held views about the exercise, the upgrade of the polytechnics will not duplicate the existing universities.