Accreditation Board Urges Technical Universities To Be Circumspect

The National Accreditation Board (NAB) has asked authorities of technical universities in the country to be cautious in the recruitment of lecturers.

According to the board, competent lecturers will facilitate the training of unique graduates, capable of managing the fast-changing technological environment.

Dr. Kingsley Nyarko, Executive Secretary of the National Accreditation Board, made the call when he delivered the keynote address at the recent congregation of the Koforidua Technical University (KTU), in the Eastern Region.

“Technical university and polytechnic teachers must be carefully recruited and trained to take up the vision of competence based training; the kind of qualifications required for teaching in this stage of education must be more than obtaining second university degrees at the masters' level. Such group of teachers must appreciate the fact that they are under obligation to produce task-oriented graduates or such calibre of products that are uniquely different from the university products”.

Competency-based training, the orientation of lecturers key

Dr. Nyarko warned that if the mode of training lecturers is not restructured, it will be challenging to reap the full benefits of technical education.

“If the present crop of technical university teachers are trained the way they are doing, it is not likely that achieving targets of Competence Based Training (CBT) can be realized. There must be a thorough reorientation of all technical university lecturers for practical; task oriented retraining to be able to fulfill the objectives of the CBT concepts”.

“It is not enough engaging the right kind of teaching staff, but such staff must undertake periodic orientation in the fast changing technological environment. But the question is, have the universities been doing anything differently to be able to churn out teachers with requisite qualifications that the technical university need to train their students”, he quizzed.

Koforidua Technical University needs more funds to expand – Vice-Chancellor

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of the Koforidua Technical University (KTU), Professor Mrs. Smile Dzisi, has called on the government to increase the allocation of resources to the university to enable them to fund infrastructural projects.

Professor Dzisi said although government provides for the school, more resources are needed to enable them to expand.

“We are grateful to the Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Education and the GETFund for their support in the super structure of the new block which houses the ultramodern state of the art electromechanical laboratory consisting a technical learning systems, hands-on simulators and highly interactive multimedia e-learning system. This milestone of a project will assist and equip students practically in the areas of Electrical/Electronic, Energy, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering”.

“While these projects bring us relief, our infrastructure needs remains very high, as we grow. I am by this medium appealing to the Ministry of Education and the GETFund to significantly increase our allocation to enable us fund some of our infrastructural projects which are very critical as we have increased in population because of our immense contribution to the nation.”