All is set for Sunyani Technical University (STU) to start apprenticeship programmes. It will be under the Phase IV of the Ghana TVET Voucher Project, being implemented through the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), an international organisation that works together with its partners in developing countries to identify projects and programmes which promote sustainable development.
To this end, 100 Master Craft Persons (MCPs) from various trade associations have already been registered to commence the training as an initial step for training of all Apprentices under these MCPs.
The University is therefore urging all prospective students, both local and foreign, to take advantage to enroll on these innovative and industry-driven programmes to acquire the requisite knowledge, technical and professional skills that will make them readily employable.
The University is also making efforts to introduce several tailor-made micro-credentialled Programmes (short courses) for industry practitioners within and around the three Bono Regions (Bono, Bono East and Ahafo) which would eventually lead to full degree certifications.
Prof. Ing. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, the Vice-Chancellor of STU, who announced this, called on establishments such as Newmont Ghana Gold-Ahafo Mine, VRA, the Ghana Water Company Limited, among others within the three regions to take advantage of these programmes to provide life-long learning opportunities for their esteemed staff.
Speaking at the 27th matriculation ceremony of the university held in Sunyani last Friday, the Vice-Chancellor, said the university currently runs nine Master of Technology (MTech) programmes, 26 Bachelor’s programmes (B-Tech. and BSc. Programmes), 23 Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes, five other Diploma programmes and eight other non-tertiary programmes.
Admission statistics
The Vice-Chancellor further said the university issued admission letters to a total of 5,704 prospective students this year with 3,362 of the applicants, representing 58.9%, responding positively and being admitted into the University for the 2023/2024 academic year.
“Out of the total enrolment, 2,252, representing 67.0%, are males, whilst 1,110, representing 33.0%, are females. In terms of disciplines, 2,833, representing 84.3%, enrolled into science, technology, engineering and TVET based programmes as against 529, constituting 15.7%, for Business and Administration. This is in line with our mandate as a Technical University,” he disclosed.
Prof. Ing. Adinkrah-Appiah also said the total enrolment of 3,362 fresh students for this academic year shows an increase of 14.0% over last year’s figure of 2,949, adding that this significant rise in the student enrolment at the University for this academic year can be attributed to several factors. They include good performance of students in the world of work, the advertisements through various platforms such as social media, radio stations as well as the introduction of new Bachelor’s and master’s programmes.
This, he said, calls for a more intensive enrolment drive by the University to continuously improve its annual enrolment into new and existing academic programmes.
“When patronage of such industry-driven programmes is improved, it would help produce more skilled graduates who can readily find employment or set up their own businesses to reduce the existing high spate of youth unemployment facing our country in recent times,” he emphasised.
Security
The Vice-Chancellor assured the freshers that management had put in place measures to protect life and property on campus by setting up Campus Police Post to augment the existing security architecture on campus.
He further said the lighting system on campus had also been massively improved whilst security patrols and visibility had been enhanced.
The Vice-Chancellor however urged all students not to be careless about their own personal security, saying “do not walk alone on campus in the night as that might compromise your personal security. And we urge you to report all cases of security breaches on campus to the Dean of Students, Chief Security, the Police Post or call the Campus Security Emergency Number posted on your various platforms.”
Discipline
Touching on the need for the freshers to the disciplined, he encouraged them to exhibit a high sense of purpose and diligence in pursuing their academic career so that they can achieve the required skills and competence that will make them successful in the world of work.
“You are the future leaders of this country, as some of you here would become lecturers, engineers, businessmen, parliamentarians and even president of the country. You should, therefore, be serious with your studies here at the STU campus so that you can climb the academic ladder successfully,” he said.
(From the PR Office)