Wa, June 28, GNA - Wa Polytechnic on Tuesday launched a 10-year Strategic plan and an Endowment Fund to mobilize two billion cedis within a year as seed money to implementation its programmes. The plan is a guide for the Polytechnic to achieve its vision of becoming a world-class centre for applied technology and career-focused education for rural poverty reduction and national development. Mr Ambrose Dery, Upper West Regional Minister who launched the plan and the Fund, said authorities of Wa Polytechnic should assist to solve problems affecting agriculture, water and sanitation as well as empowerment of women, the most dependable partners in communities. He said Government was working on a more reliable and sustainable loan scheme for students in tertiary institutions and urged them to re-pay the loans after completing their courses.

Mr Dery announced that the Tinga-Bamboi stretch of the Wa-Bamboi road in a deplorable condition would soon be awarded on contract. Professor Jacob Songsore, Chairman of the Polytechnic Council, said establishment of the Fund was to create avenues to generate funds to supplement efforts of Government and development partners. Professor Songsore, who is also Dean of Graduate Studies of University of Ghana, urged the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council, Non-Governmental Organizations, Industries, Municipal and District Assemblies, Chiefs and farming groups in the region to support the plan to succeed.

Professor Sampson Agodzo, Principal of Wa Polytechnic, said under the strategic plan, the Polytechnic would embark on unique objectives such as the establishment of a Science and Technology Park. Others are the development of customized, market driven short courses to enhance the technical capabilities of stakeholders for wealth creation and poverty reduction.

Mrs Elaine McNeil, a representative of Saskatchewan Institute for Applied Science and Technology in Canada, which is supporting authorities of the Polytechnic to establish its projects, announced that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) had provided 10,000 dollars to the Polytechnic to implement its ICT plan. About 60 million cedis were realized in contributions and pledges during the launching.

The Polytechnic, established in 1999, currently runs Higher National Diploma (HND) courses in Agricultural Engineering, Secretarial-ship, Management and Accounting.