Student enrollment at the Sunyani Technical University (STU) has increased in the 2017/2018 academic year, Professor Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, the Vice Chancellor (VC) has said.
This, the Vice-Chancellor, attributed to the new two-year Top-Up B-Tech programmes introduced at the University in the academic year and this has opened avenues for academic progression for its HND graduates.
Prof Adinkrah-Appiah said this at a matriculation ceremony held to officially admit fresh students to pursue various programmes in the academic year.
Being the second matriculation, after the conversion of the then Sunyani Polytechnic through the Technical University Act, 2016 (Act 922), a total of 2,226 were admitted into the University.
They consisted of 1,320 males and 906 females, with 56 per cent of them studying science and technology programmes and 44 per cent pursuing business and humanities courses.
Prof Adinkrah-Appiah said student enrolment which stood at 1,532 last year, has registered a 45 per cent increase in the current academic year and expressed the hope that the positive results would be sustained in the coming years.
He said the University had submitted more than 20 new four-year B-Tech programmes to the National Accreditation Board (NAB) and National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) for accreditation.
Prof Adinkrah-Appiah said NAB had completed its assessment of the University's preparedness to start the new programmes, and it is waiting for the NCTE to give clearance to enable the NAB to issue the accreditation.
'If the four-year programme commence, it will put the University on a level playing field with other Universities across the globe to compete for students, both nationally and internationally', Prof. Adinkrah-Appiah said.
He appealed to the NCTE to facilitate the process of accrediting the four-year B-Tech programmes for the STU and for other universities in the country to make the technical university relevant and competitive.
Prof Adinkrah-Appiah said the University has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two universities in Germany and the United States of America which focus on academic exchange programmes between the STU and the UMES, Maryland, and Fachocschule Dortmund, Germany to exchange faculty, staff and students.
In the MOU, students would be allowed to take at least a semester in Germany or Maryland and their credits would be transferred to the STU when they come back for smooth progression to the next stage on their programmes.
More so, students offering the Pharmacy Technician Programme at the STU, on completion, will also have the opportunity to enrol on the three-year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm-D) programme at the UMES, USA, to be able to practice as professional pharmacists.
Prof Adinkrah-Appiah said summer vacation employment has been arranged for Tourism and Hospitality students of the University at Ocean City, a world class tourist centre in Maryland to help them to gain practical experience and international exposure in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Mr Samuel Ankamah Obour, the University's Registrar, who administered the matriculation oath, admonished the fresh students to abide by the oath and concentrate on their studies.
GNA
By Dennis Peprah, GNA
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