Professor Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State in- charge of Tertiary Education, has assured management of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic of government’s commitment to convert both Bolgatanga and Wa Polytechnics to technical universities.
He said the conversion of those facilities to technical universities would enable them derive full and maximum benefits of technical tertiary education to provide career pathway for the students.
“We understand the importance of equipment and industry experience in the training of graduates of a technical university, for this reason we are taking the necessary steps to provide that vital requirement to Bolgatanga Polytechnic to improve your readiness for the conversion to a Technical University and the competiveness of your products in the world of work,” he said.
Professor Yankah was speaking at a graduation ceremony of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic in the Upper East Region, where he was the guest of honour.
The Minister tasked the management and staff of all technical universities and polytechnics to device development based programmes to increase knowledge and contribute significantly to national development.
He asked staff of the polytechnic to undertake innovative research works and come out with projects and ideas that would help develop mutual partnership with the Northern Development Authority, which was yet to be passed to promote agriculture and national development.
“The key resource for any sustained national development is skilled human capital. The level of development in a middle income country like Ghana is determined by the quality of its human resource coupled with innovations in science and technology especially agriculture,” he said.
He said it was in that regard that the Government promised to create jobs and make it attractive to the youth in order to achieve economic and social development in the country.
Professor Yankah reiterated government’s commitment to making the country a food hub by achieving food security and excess for export through the revolution of the agriculture sector and policy of planting for food and jobs.
While congratulating the graduates for their successful completion, Professor Yankah charged them to reinvest in society what they have gained from it to enhance development of the Region and the country at large.
He added, “As you leave the polytechnic into realities of life, remember that society which invested so much in you would expect returns from you and those returns would be measured not only in the way you assist your community to identify solutions to their problems, but also the quality of your solutions and the role you play in industrializing the lives of your people”.