Cape Coast Technical University council inaugurated

The Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, yesterday inaugurated a 19-member reconstituted governing council of the Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU) and charged the members to be guided by the provisions of the Technical Universities Act, 2016 (Act 922) in appointing substantive officers of the university.

“As council, you are to approve the statutes for CCTU, but you must be guided by standardised provisions provided by the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE).

“Council will be expected to follow approved statutes and scheme of service for technical universities which will be used as guidelines in appointing substantive officers.

“No position shall be confirmed unless the person is selected through due process. Appointment will be made based on procedures prescribed in approved statutes,” Dr Prempeh told the council members.

Membership

The reconstituted governing council is chaired by Professor Harold S. Amonoo-Kuofi, with Professor Nana Osei-Wusu as the acting interim Vice-Chancellor. Its other members include Ing Micheal Krakue, Mr Vincent Frimpong Manu and Madam Gyamfuah Abrefa as government nominees.

Others are Ms Phyllis Andoh, Council For Technical And Vocational Educational Training (COTVET), Ing Samuel Avaala Awonnea from the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Rev. Dr Franklin K. Boadu of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Mr Derick Agyei Gyamfi and Mr Frederick Appiah, representing the Convocation (Teaching and non-teaching respectively).

The rest are Mr Uriah S. Tetteh from the teaching staff association, Samuel Jabez Arkafie and Mr Stephen Hanniba Essel, senior staff association and junior staff association respectively, Mr Eric Awere, alumni, Ms Josephine Quansah, School Representative Council (SRC), Mr Charles Manasseh Sackey, Ghana Employer’s Association and Mr Jonathan Tawiah from the Association of Principals Technical Institutions.

Background

Since the conversion of the Cape Coast Polytechnic into the CCTU, it had been operating with a three-member Interim Management Committee (IMC).

The IMC said its limited functions was slowing the pace of activities at the school, while the students also complained that the IMC by its work was not addressing their concerns.

Meanwhile, the IMC has presented a comprehensive report to government, containing recommendations that had been accepted by the Ministry of Education.

Recommendations

Dr Prempeh listed the recommendations to include the need to asign specific bank accounts to the various incomes generated by the university, such as proceeds from the sale of admission forms, application for transcripts, the clinic, basic school, among others, and also that management should work hard to regularise affiliated programmes and ensure that those programmes thrived.

“The Academic Departments and schools should work hard to develop and add on new technical and vocational rogrammes.

“On the unofficial use of any of the vehicles of the institution, the user must fuel the vehicle and pay the driver as required,” he added.

Mandate of council

Dr Prempeh reiterated that the mandate of the Technical Universities Council was to ensure that the universities provided higher education in Engineering, Science and Technology-based disciplines, technical and vocational education and training, applied arts and related disciplines.

“The Council is responsible for the governance of the University, including the approval of the vision and mission of the University, in line with the provisions of the Technical Universities Act, 2016 (Act 922) as amended”, he reiterated.

Response to charge

Responding to the charge, Prof. Amonoo-Kuofi, on behalf of the council, expressed appreciation for the honour done the members, describing their nomination as, “a great honour.”

He underscored the importance of technical education to the realisation of the government’s flagship programme, One-district, One-factory (1D1F), assuring that the council would work to create enough room to absorb the first batch of students under the Free SHS educational policy, who would be seeking admission in 2020.