Lecturers abandon Accra Poly after sponsorship for PhD education

Some lecturers sponsored by the Accra Polytechnic to pursue various PhD programmes have left the polytechnic for other public universities, the Rector of the polytechnic, Dr Sylvester Achio, has disclosed.

According to him, the lecturers have left the polytechnic in search of better conditions of service.

“It is sad to note that some lecturers who were previously granted scholarships to pursue various PhD programmes left us for other public universities to enjoy better conditions of service, after the polytechnic had spent so much to train them.

“We hope that these beneficiaries would act responsibly and desist from this unfortunate practice to enable them to stay to develop the polytechnic,” Dr Achio lamented at the 12th congregation of the polytechnic.

In all, 2,675 graduates were presented with High National Diploma (HND) certificates.

Dr Achio noted that the polytechnic had signed a performance contract with the Ministry of Education, which had necessitated a review and adoption of a new vision for the future of the polytechnic.

“This was underpinned by the development of our 2013-2018 strategic plan,” he said, adding that “striving for academic excellence in research, enterprise, learning and teaching remain the mainstay of our strategy”.

He noted that in partnership with the National Board for Professional and Technicians Examinations (NABPTEX), the polytechnic had begun offering access courses to enable graduates of technical and vocational institutions to upgrade themselves with good foundation in science to gain admission to read HND programmes.

Dr Achio said majority of the students had applied and “we are waiting for admission to offer various HND programmes this year”.

On admissions for the 2013-2014 academic year, he gave the assurance that the polytechnic would admit as many students as its physical infrastructure could take.

The Chairman of council of the polytechnic, Prof. Joshua Alabi, said the Polytechnic Act 2007 (Act 745) prescribed the polytechnics as specialist tertiary educational institutions whose agenda was aimed at developing application-oriented skills in the fields of manufacturing, commerce, science, technology, applied social sciences and applied arts.

In pursuit of such agenda, he said, the Governing Council expected that the lecturers would pursue practical-oriented programmes based on engagement in applied research, innovation of new technologies and dissemination of new ideas through publications.

“The polytechnic must provide the bulk of our workforce with an education that is practical and forward-looking, so as to train entrepreneurs who can create jobs rather than rely on the government for employment,” he said.

The Chairman of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), Prof. Mahama Duwiejua, stated that the main purpose of education was not only to impart knowledge, but to also nurture younger generations in their intellectual, physical, moral, social and economic development.

The role of polytechnic education, he said, was crucial to the success of Ghana’s quest for industrialisation, which would depend greatly on the availability of the technical workforce from the polytechnics.

“The rationale of polytechnic education is to produce this critical core of middle-level manpower for the country. In fact, given the nature of technological advancement in the world, polytechnics must emphasise the acquisition of hands-on practical and entrepreneurial skills to train career-focused technical workforce required to meet the needs of the labour market,” he added.

By Emmanuel Bonney/Ghana