Professor Edmund Ameko, the Acting Vice Chancellor of the Accra Technical University, has urged newly admitted students of the institute, to focus more on acquiring the requisite skills needed in the working environment.

He admonished the students to eschew indiscipline and focus on their studies to meet the growing demand for vocational and technical skills in the country.

The Acting Vice-Chancellor said this in relation to the lack of practical skills in the current education system, especially in the universities.

Speaking at the 2018/19 matriculation ceremony on Friday, Prof Ameko said there was the need to prioritise technical Universities because they were best positioned to curb unemployment challenges, especially among the youth.

The University admitted a total number of 4,385 students down by 26 per cent from last year’s academic figures of 5,176 to read business administration, BTech, purchasing and supply, medical laboratory, auto mechanic among others.

“The technical Universities are the ones to drive Ghana’s Technical Vocational Education and Training Policy objective of improving the productivity and competitiveness of a skilled workforce and raising the income earning capacity of people”.

He stated that the Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Education and the Governing Council of Accra Technical University, are currently implementing strategies to equip students with the necessary employable skills and competencies.

He said the Government, through the Council for Technical, Vocational Education and Training, would be handing over to the University, four new laboratories and workshops for the respective programmes at the new Accra Technical Universities Mpehuasem campus.

Professor Ameko said the University was purposely focused on research, learning, innovation and enterprise to have a positive economic, technological and social impact in the country and globally.

“We are mandated to engage in applied research and technology transfer and the university is going a step further to adopt the living laboratory research concept which integrates concurrent research and innovation processes within a public-private-people partnership,” he said.

The professor said the management of the school is collaborating with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, to create a smart, sustainable and city, to improve the quality of life of people living within the Municipal area.

Speaking on the availability of water for students, he said the management of the school are engaging with the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority to explore the possibility of building a dam on Panto stream along the university’s new campus at Mpehuasem.

“Accra Technical University is procuring 250 extra computers, 100 chairs with tables and upgrading its Wi-Fi infrastructure to support these initiatives,” he added.

He congratulated the students for gaining admission into the institute and advised them to attend lectures and take part in end of semester examinations because, that would be used to assess their performance on course of their respective programmes.

Mr Abankwah Yeboah, a member of the Council of state, who was present at the ceremony, admonished the students to abide by the school’s rules and regulations and take their learning seriously because, the country is in need of able future leaders.