NAB directs technical universities to withdraw unqualified students

An audit conducted by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) has revealed that many students of the technical universities do not have the necessary qualification to study at the tertiary level.

The NAB has, therefore, written to the affected institutions to withdraw all students whose grades did not meet the requirements for admission.

“Some of the technical universities fall foul of ensuring that only qualified students are offered admission to their institutions,” the Executive Secretary of the NAB, Mr Kwame Dattey, told the Daily Graphic.

However, he did not mention the names of the technical universities involved.

He said the affected technical universities were required to withdraw the unqualified students, since they did not meet the requirements for admission.

Deadline

“The institutions have been given some deadline to withdraw the unqualified students and inform the board, and the board will send people to go and verify,” Mr Dattey said, without revealing the specific deadline.

He said he was surprised at the outcome of the audit, since the institutions knew the requirements for admission.

The technical universities are the Accra, Kumasi, Ho, Koforidua, Cape Coast, Sunyani, Tamale and Takoradi Technical universities.

They were previously polytechnics but have been upgraded into technical universities.

Only the Bolgatanga and the Wa polytechnics are yet to be upgraded.

Entry

Mr Dattey said at the time of entry into any institution, be it public or private, prospective students needed to have the requisite qualification and not enter the institutions before improving their grades in subjects they did not do well

“At the time of entry, you must have qualified and acquired the relevant grades. So all those doing that is illegal. What NAB does is that between the accreditation and reaccreditation period, we send an audit team to audit the examination results of those admitted to see whether they are qualified. Those who are not qualified are required to withdraw,” he said.

He explained that to undertake a bachelor’s degree course, an applicant needed to have six credits in the WASSCE, three in the core subjects and three in the electives.