The Accra Polytechnic, on Friday held its matriculation ceremony for over nine hundred Bachelor of Technology (BTECH) and Higher National Diploma (HND) Part Time students in Accra.

The ceremony was to usher in fresh students who would undertake HND part time programmes in Business Management, Applied Science and Arts and Engineering, as well as BTECH part time programmes in Fashion Design and Textile, Science Laboratory Technology.

Mr Sylvester Achio, Rector of the Polytechnic, said the ceremony was a key academic procedure to welcome newly enrolled students into institutes of higher learning, as qualified to undertake higher education.

He said this year, a total of 136 students were admitted to undertake the BTECH Programme, out of which 31 would be undertaking Fashion Design and Textile, while the remaining 105 would be studying Science Laboratory Technology.

“With the HND programme, 547 students would be studying Business Management Studies, 97, Applied Science and Arts, while 142 would also be doing Engineering”, he added.

Mr Achio said the selection of the students was based on inter alia on their academic qualification, abilities and aptitudes, and was therefore hopeful they would uphold the standards of personal conducts, sincerity of purpose, honesty and integrity to sustain the image of the Polytechnic.

He said the important function of tertiary education was to equip students to solve their challenges by analyzing problems and finding solutions to them, saying this opportunity would form the basis for the future of the students.

He said the school has also recognized the need to equip graduates with key employability skills and have therefore introduced the World of Work skills programme to help students, alumni and the general public to explore possible careers that match their interest and skills.

We have also initiated the process of introducing short courses to augment the existing BTECH and HND programmes in the school in order to advance the development of the school over which we have been given the oversight responsibility, he stated.

Mr Achio urged the students to study hard and imbibe the practical and hands-on skills to improve upon their work performance, and take advantage of every available facility to enable them acquire the knowledge, skills and competence they need for their careers in order to earn the confidence of their employers as well as peers.

Mr Edwin Mends-Brew, Acting Vice Rector, said polytechnic education was not only academically skewed but also practically and professionally oriented, thus they would be equipped with both employable and entrepreneurial skills that would enhance their career prospects and competitiveness on the job market.

He urged the students to be disciplined in the area of time management and adhere to all rules and regulations especially those governing the conduct of examination in order to achieve academic success, saying “achieving academic success was always synonymous with discipline”.