The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) says the Clement Kubindiwo Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences (CKT-UTAS) is a standard university that can be compared to any university in the world.
‘This University is comparable to any University in the world, and we have certified it as such. So, we expect that the graduates should be able to compete with any student in any other University in the world,’ the Commission said.
Professor Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, the Director-General of the GTEC said this in a speech delivered on his behalf at the fourth congregation of the CKT-UTAS in Navrongo, in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region.
A total of 94 students, comprising graduate, undergraduate and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students of the university graduated.
Professor Jinapor said it was important for all to appreciate that universities in the country were ran in line with policies, regulations and norms, saying, ‘that is why GTEC was established to ensure the Universities played within this balance.’
He called on universities in the country to be guided by the norms which were in line with international best practices and emphasized that CKT-UTAS was a University of Science and Technology.
‘You are not a comprehensive university that offers any programme. This University was intentionally established to train engineers, technologists, scientists, doctors for the nation, and especially for the north.
‘So, you cannot, in the name of raising Internally Generated Funds, start offering programmes that are not within your mandate. At least, 75 percent of the students enrolled should be in the area of science and technology,’ he said.
Professor Jinapor noted that with science and technology, students could easily secure employment.
‘So, we want to re-emphasise that your mission is science and technology. This is a university that has great potential and must be supported,’ he added.
To the 94 graduates, the Director-General said there was the tendency for them to sit on radio and say they were unemployed graduates, and noted that if they did that, they would undermine their training, and further questioned, that, ‘How can persons who have gone through four years of training in the sciences claim that they are unemployed?’
He said there were several challenges in the communities and urged them to ‘use the knowledge you have gotten here to turn the challenges into wealth.’
Professor Gordon Akanzuwine Awundare, the Chairman of the University’s Governing Council, said with the leadership of the Council and the support of the current and successive managements over the last four years, the University laid a solid foundation for its growth.
‘We have laid a solid foundation for this University to grow and to become a world-class University in the next few years.
‘We are grateful to the management, the faculty, staff and students for the resolute support that you provided the University Council over the four years as we have worked together to put governance structures in place,’ the Chair said.
Professor Awundare said the CKT-UTAS would continue to evolve, driven by its commitment to teaching and research, excellence to renovation and community engagement.
He said the University would remain steadfast on its mission to provide quality high education, research, knowledge generation and dissemination with emphasizes on basic and applied sciences and mathematics for the socio-economic development of Ghana and beyond.
Source: Ghana News Agency