The Management of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic is preparing to meet the standard requirement so it can be upgraded to a Technical University.

The institution is among the Polytechnics in the country which could not meet the needed requirements for conversion when some selected institutions were being considered for upgrading recently.

Dr Atinga Mba, the Rector of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic, who disclosed this at the fifth graduation ceremony of the school at the Sumbrungu campus on Saturday, said one of the biggest challenges facing the institution was infrastructure deficit.

“Our most critical needs are well-equipped laboratories, and a lecture theatre complex. We also require an auditorium and many more”, he said. Dr Mba said although the Management on its part was working assiduously to put in place some of the infrastructure, academic programmes and the human resource requirements needs for the conversion, it could not do it all. Part of measures put in place by the Management to upgrade the school into a technical university include the introduction of more Bachelor of Technology programmes in Civil Engineering, Ecological Agriculture, Hotel Catering and Institutional Management, and Procurement and Logistics Management, he said. He said the Polytechnic in 2014 collaborated with the Kumasi Polytechnic to introduce the Bachelor of Technology programme in Accounting with Computing and that the first batch would be completing in June this year. “We will also strengthen our linkages with industry in the 2016/2017 academic year to enable us meet the requirements for conversion into a Technical University. We have held discussions with some of the Rectors of the Polytechnics whom we shall be collaborating with, this will enable us apply for re-assessment when we meet the conversion criteria”, Dr Mba said.

While lauding the efforts of the Government and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) for giving the School a good portion of the fund this year as part of preparations towards supporting the school to become a Technical University, the Rector appealed to the Government, the Ghana Education Service and the National Council of Tertiary Education to honour their promise to support in fast-tracking the process that would lead to the upgrading of the institution into a Technical University.

The Rector commended the chiefs and elders of Sumbrungu for releasing 110 acres of land for future expansion of the Polytechnic.

He appealed to the central government, the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority, Members of Parliament and the District Chief Executives to help the school raise money to pay for the land.

The Chairman of the Governing Council of the Polytechnic, Mr Donald Adabre Adabere, called on Polytechnics to be more innovative by introducing demand driven programmes.

He also reiterated the need for Government to support the Bolgatanga Polytechnic and those other Polytechnics that had not yet been converted to enable them meet the criteria for upgrading.

Mr Adabere urged the students to put up brilliant business plans to access the Youth Enterprise Fund to establish their own businesses instead of relying on government for jobs.

In all, 876 students who completed their courses in 2014 and 2015 were awarded with Higher National Diploma certificates in various academic disciplines including Statistics, Accountancy, Management Studies, Management, Agriculture Engineering, Building Technology and Procurement and Logistics.