The Wa Polytechnic in the Upper West Region over the weekend held its 16th matriculation ceremony for 462 fresh men and women admitted to pursue various Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes in the 2018/2019 academic year.

The students took the matriculation oath administered by Mr Vitus Songotuah, the Registrar, and pledged to be of good behaviour and abide by the rules and regulations of the institution.

Mr Iddrisu Mohammed Ngmenipuo, the Acting Rector, said during the 2018 admission cycle, 509 applications were received, out of which 462 comprising 150 female and 312 males were offered admissions.

He said per the number of admissions granted, only 324 applicants accepted the offer and were duly registered as freshmen and women.

He said the Polytechnic is facing a plethora of problems including low student enrolment and the institution is working to ensure a permanent solution.

“We have tasked the Joint Admissions Committee (JAC) to conduct a scientific study on this matter and to organize a stakeholder’s workshop to fashion out workable and sustainable strategies to the problem of very low student enrolment”, he said.

He expressed the hope that when the first cohort of the Free Senior High School (SHS) graduates are ready to join the tertiary education, the enrolment would improve.

Mr Ngmenipuo said that the school authorities are determined to work hard to place the institution on the path of progress.

He appealed to government through the Ministry of Finance to grant clearance to the Polytechnic authorities to employ more staff as the school is currently understaffed.

Mr Ngmenipuo said the school needed street lights along the main road to the campus as the students have to traverse all sort of dangers in the night to study on campus.

He urged the fresh students to develop the attitudes of discipline and commitment and learn hard to justify the financial and material investment their parent and government has placed in them.

The Wa Polytechnic was officially established in 1999 but programming and construction of the school site began in 2003.

Its prime mandate is to support rural development and poverty reduction in deprived areas.