Government has given executive approval for the Cape Coast and Tamale Polytechnics to be upgraded into Technical Universities.
This follows the re-assessment conducted on the two tertiary educational institutions which recommended their upgrading, this brings to eight the total number of schools to be upgraded in the first phase.
Based on the expert panel initial assessment of all the 10 polytechnics, the six polytechnics which initially met the criteria are scheduled to be upgraded into Technical Universities by the end of September, 2016.
The schools are Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani, Takoradi, Ho, Koforidua polytechnics.
The Technical Committee set up to advice government on the conversion, advised government the exercise must be done progressively to satisfy the requirements of becoming a technical university.
The conversion of polytechnic into technical universities was one of the manifesto promises of the Mahama administration ahead of the 2012 elections. The purpose of the transformation of all polytechnics into technical universities is to bridge the gap between academia and industry. It is also geared towards training students with employable skills for economic transformation in the country.
The upgrading of the polytechnics into Technical university from the onset has remained a subject of controversy among Educationist.
While some believe it’s a step in the right direction, others are of the view that the move is totally unnecessary.
Academicians such as former Vice Chancellors of the University of Ghana, Profs. Ernest Ayeetey and Akilagpa Sawyerr and former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration have all kicked against the conversion.
They claim they would have strongly opposed the conversion largely because the type of education polytechnics are to provide are still relevant and very desirable for our nation.
