By Patience Folley, GIJ Intern

Accra - More than 8,500 applicants who satisfied the minimum requirement for admission into the university of Ghana were rejected due to lack of facilities. Out of the 14,319 applications received, only 5,697 persons representing 38.9% of qualified applicants gained admission.

Speaking at the 51st matriculation ceremony of the university, the vice chancellor of the University, Professor Ivan Addae Mensah said admission into the University continues to be a problematic area.

He said the situation would have been worse this year if they had stricked to the option of admitting only students that could be catered for by government subventions.

Professor Addae Mensah reiterated the need to improve science facilities in he university if the nation is to achieve its development goals

"Each year during admissions, we are compelled to make available to the humanities vacancies belonging to the sciences because the facilities available are not adequate to absorb the large number of qualified science students that are being produced by our SSS system".

Of the 2060 SSS science students who qualified and applied for admission, only 369 constituting 17% were admitted. He therefore, called for a massive expansion in laboratory and lecture theatre facilities in all the science and agriculture departments.

The Vice chancellor also called for the setting up of a second engineering saintly which to him is long overdue.