Sunyani Polytechnic commends President Kufuor, GETFund

The Rector of the Sunyani
Polytechnic, Prof. Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, has commended the President, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, for fulfilling a promise made to the school, on Tuesday January 16, 2007, during a visit.

Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah, in an interview with The Chronicle in Sunyani, said the school had the chance of hosting the President for two hours, during which a meeting was held with the Rector, and the management of the Polytechnic, and the Students' Representative Council.

The Rector continued that the President and his entourage, later inspected completed projects on campus, including a hostel and a library complex, which were constructed at the cost of ¢45 billion and was financed by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

He said President Kufuor pledged the commitment of the government, to tarring the campus roads, to end the nuisance of dust, which had bedeviled the institution for some time, after he (the Rector) had appealed to the government for an urgent intervention towards that.

Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah said in fulfillment of the President's pledge, the campus road has been awarded to Asib Company, based in Kumasi, with the Urban Roads Department being consultants for the project, which is underway.

However, the Rector said the President also promised the school a bus, which the students were still expecting therefore, President Kufuor should again try to fulfill that pledge as well.

Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah expressed appreciation to the government, for the rapid infrastructural development at the School, under the GETFund, citing the rehabilitation of the 1,500 capacity auditorium, the library complex, hostel, new Rector's bungalow, science park and classroom blocks, among others.

According to the Rector of thePolytechnic, polytechnic education was equipment-intensive, so government should reconsider increasing the money allocated to them, to resource the polytechnics adequately, for the rapid economic growth of the country, because polytechnics worldwide were the pivot for economic successes.

He emphasized that despite government's efforts to provide infrastructure for the school, accommodation for both staff and students was a challenge, saying the school had only 15 bungalows to cater for over 400 teaching staff, and the students' accommodation was also inadequate.

Prof. Nsiah-Gyabaah stated that the security situation in the school was perfect, with a reasonable high academic stability, as the admission process was tough to ensure that only students with decent backgrounds were admitted.

He said the school had a problem with the alumni supporting the polytechnic, but the authorities had been able to get the core membership, to establish a solid Alumnus, to come to the aid of the school.

The Rector further hinted that the school would be hosting the 3rd edition of the all West-African Polytechnics Games in 2010, therefore massive preparations were being done, to make the games successful, adding that facilities like accommodation, and a podium for the congregation grounds, were being prepared to be used during the games.

He, however, called for the special allocation of funds, to be given towards the construction of the Science Park, since it would serve the school in diverse ways.

The Estate Manager of the School, Nana Safroadu Amankwatia, expressed excitement over the numerous development projects going on at the campus, particularly the renovation of the women's hostel, to enable students live in comfort and study effectively.

According to Nana Amankwatia, the former dormitory type of accommodation had now been changed to cubicles, with the hope that such would be replicated in the other hostels.