The Technical University Administrators Association, Ghana (TUAAG) has called on the government to convert the Bolgatanga and Wa polytechnics into technical universities to prevent the exodus of their lecturers to other technical universities.
They contended that conditions in the technical universities might be an incentive for qualified lecturers such as professors and doctorate degree holders in the polytechnics to leave to join their colleagues in the technical universities.
Speaking at the 7th Annual Delegates Conference of the association at the Bolgatanga Polytechnic in the Upper East Region, the President of TUAAG, Mr Mohammed Kamal-Deen Alhassan, said technical universities were also likely to attract qualified students from the catchment areas of the polytechnics, thereby affecting their admission intake.
Delegates
The conference, which was on the theme: “The Role of Technical University in the Implementation of the ‘One District, One Factory Policy”, was attended by delegates from the eight technical universities and the Bolgatanga and Wa polytechnics.
Mr Alhassan said the successful implementation of the government’s “One District, One Factory” project required a large human resource with technical background and innovative ideas, pointing out that the conversion of the two polytechnics would enable them to contribute to the success of the policy in their respective regions.
“If the government does not convert the Bolgatanga and Wa polytechnics into technical universities, then we are depriving these regions of the ‘One District, One Factory’ policy of government, so we members of TUAAG are appealing to the government to urgently convert these two polytechnics into technical universities to explore the full potentials and prospects of this noble policy.”
New governing councils
The president of TUAAG entreated the government to constitute new governing councils for the various technical universities to facilitate the drafting and implementation of their conditions of service.
He indicated that the Technical Universities act mandated the respective councils to come out with their conditions of service, “but we do not have these councils in place so we are appealing to the government to expedite action in constituting these councils so that we could have actual technical universities in place”.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Rockson Ayine Bukari, assured the association of government’s commitment to convert both the Bolgatanga and Wa polytechnics into technical universities.
He said the technical universities would be assisted to refocus on technical education to produce competent manpower to facilitate the success of government’s industrial revolution of the “One District, One Factory, One Village, One Dam” policies among other pro-poor policies.
