A bill to give legal backing to the conversion of Polytechnics into Technical universities will soon be laid before parliament, following executive approval of the draft legislation last week.

President John Mahama who disclosed this, during the commissioning of an ultra-modern Engineering learning systems laboratory at the Ho Polytechnic said the bill, when passed by Parliament, will complete the conversion process initiated by the government.

The Technical Universities’ bill when approved will also replace the current Polytechnic Act of 2007(Act 745), which mandates the institutions to produce skilled middle level manpower for industry as well as hands-on entrepreneurs to enhance the social-economic development of the country.

Six out the 10 polytechnics that met the conversion criteria have been earmarked for the phase one of the conversion, which begins in the 2016/17 academic year.

According to President Mahama, the conversion would not just be a mere change of name but rather “a new culture and character with a more purposeful and definitive direction; which will emphasize a close engagement with the world of work, without disengaging with the requisite academic orientation of higher educational institutions.”

He therefore urged the soon-to-be Technical universities to stay focused on their core mandate of training students in technical and vocational skills to meet the demand of industry.

The President who was on a 3-day ‘Accounting to the People’ tour of the Volta region, re-emphasized government’s resolve to re-tool the various technical and vocational institutions to produce the manpower needs of industry and also make the students entrepreneurial in order to minimize the increasing youth unemployment in the country.