B-Poly in exchange programme with Apidon Academy of Science

Dr. Mba Atinga, B-Poly Rector

By William N-lanjerborr Jalulah
Dr. Mba Atinga, B-Poly Rector
In its bid to enhance easy communication flow among their students, the managements of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic and Apidon Academy of Science in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the study of French in the former and English Language in the latter.

The partnership is expected to offer lecturers and students of the two institutions the opportunity to study and be able to communicate effectively in the two languages, so as to enhance their research works and open more avenues for them in their future careers.

During their visits, the students and their lecturers would stay for a period of one to three months studying and sharing ideas.

The General Manger of Apidon, the mother company of the Apidon Academy of Science, Mr. Nacro Gambetta Aboubakar, told The Chronicle in an interview in Bolgatanga that his academy has two departments - Statistics and Sociometry.

He observed that English Language was the main link in the area of communication across the world, and as an institution, they cannot achieve their objective of accommodating students from other parts of the world without adopting it.

He said, for example, most of the books in statistics are written in the English Language, and since statistics was being studied in his institute, it was very important to learn and be able to utilise it.

Since the establishment of the Apidon Academy of Science in 2009 as a private enterprise, it has been admitting a limited number of students, mainly from Burkina Faso. The recent visit of students and lecturers was made up 11 students, 10 from Burkina Faso and one from Niger, and three lecturers, including Mr. Gambetta.

Mr. Gambetta hinted that his institute had acquired a large parcel of land in Ouagadougou for expansion, and when this is done, it would open admissions to all other African countries, including Ghana.

The other lecturers were Mrs. Yvette Bonzi and Mr. Zoma Barthelemy.

The Rector of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic, Dr. Mba Atinga, was excited about the partnership, and said since Ghana was surrounded by Francophone countries, it important Ghanaians take the study of French seriously.

He said his lecturers and students see the partnership as an opportunity for them to learn the French language to broaden their scope of communication.

The Vice Rector of the Polytechnic, Mr. Oscar Mac Avomah, Registrar Zangu-Rana Ibrahim D. Yakubu, and Mr. Sylvester Anaba, Examinations Officer, witnessed the signing of the MoU. They called for a policy that would make the study of the French Language in Ghanaian schools compulsory, since the country was enveloped by French-speaking countries.