Changing Polytechnics into Universities will cost Ghana GH? 150 million.

Naana Jane Opoku Agyeman

Government has earmarked over GHC 150 million to facilitate the process of converting the country’s polytechnics to universities.

Part of the amount is expected to be use in upgrading equipment and infrastructure in these institutions, and review curriculum toensure students become competitive on the job market.

Government through the Ministry of Education initiated steps in 2013 to convert polytechnics to universities by September 2016.

A technical committee was subsequently put in place to look into the readiness of the institutions before the conversion. It recommended that some aspects of the curriculum for polytechnics be reviewed.

It further proposed the expansion of existing infrastructure, and also recommended that the Ministry of Education partner foreign institutions to streamline subject areas for polytechnics.

In line with the recommendation, the Ministry has partnered German Academic Exchange Service to run some programmes after the polytechnics have been converted.

Briefing the media on the partnership in Accra, the Minister of Education, Naana Jane Opoku Agyeman said it has provided enormous opportunity for institutions and industry to adopt practices and implement decisions that would transform the polytechnics into world-class technical universities.

“We must also determine the next step and we suggest that the next step looks at staffing, curriculum, related issues that will inform critical decisions in carving a niche for our newly converted polytechnics,” she said.

Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Ghana, Bernard Abels believes the partnership would facilitate the growth of more entrepreneurs in the country.

Source: tv3network.com.