Sunyani, Feb.14, GNA - Some past students of the Sunyani Polytechnic have raised concern about the delay in the release of their certificates, a situation that had prevented them from gaining employment. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani on Monday, some of the students said the certificates were supposed to be released a year after completion of their courses 93but for two years now,= we have not received the certificates."

Authorities of the institution had also not formally communicated to them the reasons for the delay in the issuance of the certificates. The past students complained that the situation had affected their chances of securing jobs.

Mr. Samuel Ankama Obour, Registrar of the Polytechnic, explained tha= t the new polytechnic law introduced by the government permitted polytechnics to issue their own diplomas, Higher National diplomas and degrees. He said the Academic Board was on the verge of issuing its own certificates when the National Accreditation Board said the Academic Board did not have the charter to issue the certificates. Mr Obour said acquiring the charter involved a long process which, if the Academic Board had adhered to, would have delayed the release of the certificates. He said the interests and the welfare of the students was paramount, hence the decision to resort to our existing system. Mr. Obour said before the National Board for Professional and Technician Examination (NABTEC) released the certificates, they had to go through all the examination scripts to ascertain their authenticity. He said the NABTEC gave March as the deadline for the release of the certificates but the school authorities had to work tirelessly to have it reduced to February.

"Hopefully by the close of the week the certificates would be releas= ed and a congregation held in honour of the students for their hard work" he added. Mr. Obour said the school academic board met a delegation of the students led by the 2008/2009 SRC President, Mr. Michael Osei Boateng, and told the delegation to explain the situation to the rest of the former students but the team failed to do so