Cape Coast Technical University cries for student hostels

The Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU) has only one hostel which accommodates less than 10 per cent of its student population.

The only hostel on campus accommodates 268 of the about 3000 student population.

The rest of the students live in rented facilities around campus with several challenges including exorbitant rents, theft among others.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Rev. Professor Joshua Danso Owusu-Sekyere, who disclosed this, said the situation did not present a good picture, adding that the leadership of the university was in talks with a number of companies to construct hostels on campus.

He was speaking at this year’s matriculation for freshmen and women of the university last Thursday.

In all, a total of 1,398 students including 525 males and 444 females were matriculated. Out of the number, 683 are tertiary students, while 286 would offer non-tertiary courses.

Prof. Owusu-Sekyere said it was expected that by next year, one or two more hostels would have been constructed on campus to help provide convenient accommodation for students.

Uncompleted projects

He stated that the management of the university was working to ensure that all uncompleted projects on the campus, including work on the auditorium, were completed.

He said it was obvious that government had put emphasis on technical and vocational education to help bring about the needed industrialisation in the country.

“We have all realised that the grammar type of education, which has produced thousands of graduates over the past 60 years, lacks certain vital components in the training it provides to bring about the industrialisation of this nation,” he stated.

He said it was expected that institutions such as the CCTU emphasised on skills acquisition rather than just the acquisition of knowledge to produce the graduates needed for the transformation of the country, adding that the future of the nation hung on the students of technical universities.

Focus

Prof. Owusu-Sekyere said the CCTU had as its central focus area, the development of renewable energy and that the university was in the process of setting up a renewable energy centre to work to become a centre of excellence in renewable energy in the country.

To that end, he said all courses in the university would have some aspects on renewable energy incorporated in them. 

He urged the students to use their time wisely and study hard to achieve their academic goals.

The students later took the matriculation oath, pledging to abide by all school regulations.