The Chairman of the reconstituted Governing Council of Sunyani Technical University (STU), Prof. Samuel Awuah-Nyamekye, says technical universities should offer students practical and hands-on training to acquire the requisite technical and professional skills that would mold them into successful entrepreneurs.
To this end, technical universities must provide an education that is practical and forward-looking in approach, to train students who can create jobs rather than relying on the government or other institutions for employment.
Prof. Awuah-Nyamekye was addressing the second session of the 17th congregation of the STU held at the University’s main auditorium.
In all, 1,012 graduands were awarded Master of Technology (MTech), Higher National Diploma (HND) and Diploma Certificates in Engineering, TVET, Applied Science and Technology, Built Environment and Applied Arts, as well as Business and Management Studies disciplines.
Out of the graduating class, 609, representing 60.2%, are males, whilst 403, representing 39.8% are females. Also, 11, representing 1.10% belong to the Master’s (MTech) Cohort, whilst 1,001 constitute HND and Diploma Cohort.
Prof. Awuah-Nyamekye said STU was on course to delivering this mandate by mounting industry-driven academic programmes that are practically and entrepreneurially inclined to produce graduates who exit the University with high employability potentials and can also set up their own commercial enterprises to employ others.
He further said: “Technical Universities in Ghana are, therefore, The Technical Universities are expected to play a major role in leading and promoting the practical application of Science, Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation in Ghana. These, undoubtedly, are the critical drivers for the socio-economic development of any country.”
Entrepreneurship
In his report to convocation, the Vice-Chancellor, Ing. Prof Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, said the University in collaboration with the Edinburgh College, UK recently completed an entrepreneurship training of its staff through the British Council.
According to the Vice Chancellor, the training has indeed sharpened the skills of STU staff to further train all students in entrepreneurial principles and how to commence start-up businesses before they complete their programmes at the University.
“The University is, therefore, more poised to continue training our students to attain technical and entrepreneurial skills and values before they leave campus for the job market, and that is why our graduates are highly employable and many of them have become job creators”, he added.
Staffing
The Vice Chancellor said the current Faculty strength of 255, with almost 10,000 students, does not help the departments meet the student-lecturer ratios for the various programmes run by the University, as prescribed by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) guidelines.
This, he explained, has compelled Management to engage the services of Part-Time Lecturers while efforts are also being made to further build the capacity of some lecturers.
“In this wise, we appeal to Government to come to the aid of the Sunyani Technical University by granting financial clearance to recruit more staff to better the student-lecturer ratios, as the IGF alone cannot help recruit the required number of Staff”, he said.
The Vice Chancellor appealed to government to grant approval to universities in Ghana, through GTEC, to replace all staff who end their employments with these institutions as soon as they leave to avoid the burden of having to recruit part-time staff whilst waiting for years un-end to obtain governmental approval for replacement.
According to him, STU spends over GHC 250,000 a month from its limited IGF in paying casual staff on a part-time basis to sustain the University’s operational activities.
Job creation
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, in a speech read for him, enouraged the graduands to embrace entrepreneurship alongside technical skills as a pathway to job creation, saying: “We must equip young Ghanaians with the mindset and tools to start, sustain and grow their own businesses.”
He said programmes such as YouStart, NEIP and the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) initiatives are part of a broader effort to nurture entrepreneurial talents and asked institutions to integrate business development training, mentorship, and access to finance into their programmes to support persons who wants to be entrepreneurs after school.
The Omanhene of Sunyani, Odeefour Ogyeamansan Boahen Korkor II, reiterated his commitment to recovering all stolen lands belonging to STU in due course.
The Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboah reaffirmed government’s commitment to tertiary education, citing the payment of fees for first-year students of the country’s public universities and colleges as a testament to this pledge.
Mr. Ertana Abednego Kwabena Direbo of the Department of Business and Management emerged as the valedictorian with other outstanding students recognized and awarded for their exceptional academic achievements.
