CapeVars reduces admissions by 20%

Cape Coast, Oct. 01, GNA - Authorities of University of Cape Coast (UCC) admitted 3,911 undergraduates out of 13,125 qualified applicants year.

In addition, 220 students were admitted for Masters' Programme and 27 for Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

This was announced by Reverend Professor Emmanuel Adow Obeng, Vice Chancellor of the university at the Matriculation of 4,158 fresh students to pursue various courses in the University at Cape Coast on Saturday.

He said there was a 19.7 per cent drop in admissions this year that signified the first reduction in admissions and marked the university's intention to consolidate its population profile. The Vice Chancellor said in spite of the reduction in admission this year, there was an appreciable increase in postgraduate admissions where 27 including four women were admitted into PhD programmes as against 17 last year, while 220 students including 46 women were admitted for Masters' programmes as against 172 last year. Prof. Adow Obeng said with the university's policy of improving women and men students' ratio, the percentage of women admitted into the undergraduate programmes this year, increased from 31.9 per cent last year to 33.5 per cent this year, which was an important step towards achieving gender parity in UCC intake.

He said 562 students were admitted from remedial programmes, 291 mature examination and 107 from deprived schools representing 24.5 per cent of the total intake for this year.

On academic performance, the Vice Chancellor urged the students to take their studies serious to avoid being dismissed or asked to repeat. He said 128 level 100 students were dismissed last year for poor academic performance while 23 levels 200 and 300 were dismissed for failing in more than three-credit courses and 40 students who failed in three-credit courses were asked to repeat in their failed courses. On new residential policy, Prof. Adow Obeng said the university would soon review its in-out-out-in students resident policy to an in-out-out-out to help check the abuses associated with the policy and also ensured that level 100 students who were most vulnerable were assisted to get acquainted to their new environment.

He said authorities of the university in collaboration with organizations such as Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies, financial institutions and GETFUND were working hard to build more hostels to help improve on the accommodation problem on campus.

On security, the Vice Chancellor said the university was undertaking the construction of a permanent police station in addition erection of fence wall in some parts of the campus that were high risk prone and advised the students to observe personal safety precautions.