The Bolgatanga Technical University in the Upper East Region has increased its admission for the 2020/2021 academic year by 35.7 percent as compared to the previous academic year, Professor Samuel Erasmus Alnaa, the Interim Vice-Chancellor of the University has revealed.

“For this academic year, the University has admitted a total of 1,011 freshmen and women of which 688 have reported and registered for their various programmes of study. This is against a total of 745 students admitted last academic year representing 35.7 percent increment in enrollment,” he said.

The Interim Vice Chancellor made this known at the 18th matriculation ceremony to welcome new students for the current academic year.

Professor Alnaa attributed the high rate of admission to the conversion of the school from a Polytechnic to a Technical University coupled with the introduction of new programmes and commended government and other stakeholders for the respective roles they played leading to the conversion.

Professor Alnaa said the University had introduced 10 new programmes, which were market-driven and were expected to equip the students with knowledge and skills to find solutions to societal problems.

He mentioned Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering, Bachelor of Technology in Building Technology, Bachelor of Technology in Agriculture Engineering, Bachelor of Technology in Ecological Agriculture, Bachelor of Technology in Hotel Catering and Institutional Management, HND in Banking and Finance, HND in Automobile Engineering, HND in Electrical/Electronics Engineering, HND in Medical Laboratory Technology and HND in Mechanical Engineering.

The Interim Vice-Chancellor said the University needed retooling and infrastructure addition including, lecture theatres and staff and students accommodation to be able to admit more students and effectively roll out the new programmes.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as you may be told we intend to create a Technology village, but every evolution comes with challenges. Bolgatanga Technical University is now teething and needs all the materials in their right quantities to grow strong teeth. It is in the light of this that I wish to make a passionate appeal to the government to continue to retool the University until its teeth are strong enough to bite,” he appealed.

He said the University had further introduced six new courses and a half-year top-up Bachelor of Technology programmes and had continued to build the capacity of staff to deliver quality tuition to equip the students with practical knowledge for the job market.

He said, “25 staff are currently studying PhD programmes, while 17 have successfully completed their PHD programmes and returned to their post. About 11 are pursuing Master degree programmes and quite a number are on other programmes of different categories."

The Interim Vice Chancellor urged the students to be disciplined and industrious and learn hard in order to build their capacities to be self-employed and ready for the job market.