5 polytechnics to run degree programmes

Page 16: April 12, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
FIVE of the country’s polytechnics have been accredited to run various degree programmes from the next academic year. They are the Accra, Cape Coast, Ho, Sunyani and Takoradi polytechnics.
The Executive Secretary of the National Accreditation Board (NAB), Mr Kwame Dattey, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said any of the other polytechnics that advertised to admit students for degree programmes would be contravening the NAB Law.
He was throwing more light on an advertiser’s announcement caused to be published in the April 4, 2008 issue of the Daily Graphic.
He noted that the Kumasi Polytechnic had neither applied for nor been accredited to run any degree programme and warned the public not to be deceived into applying for or sending their children and wards to pursue any degree programme advertised by the institution until further notice.
He said the Accra Polytechnic had been accredited to run degree programmes in Science Laboratory Technology and Fashion Design Technology, while the Cape Coast and Sunyani polytechnics had been accredited to run degree programmes in Building Technology.
The Takoradi Polytechnic is to run degree programmes in Industrial Art, Hospitality Management and Tourism Management, while the Ho Polytechnic has been accredited to run degree programmes in Automotive Engineering and Hotel Catering and Institutional Management.
Mr Dattey said past students of the polytechnics which had been accredited to run the degree programmes could go back for a two-year top-up programme to upgrade their Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) into degrees.
He said such students must, however, have had two-year post-qualification practical experience in the relevant subject areas.
He advised parents and guardians to always endeavour to check with the NAB, either at its office or at the website, on the accreditation of all institutions and their respective programmes before sponsoring their children and wards to enrol in them.
Mr Dattey appealed to media organisations to request tertiary institutions to provide evidence of their accreditation status before accepting to publish their admission advertisements.
He said although that might be hard for many media organisations to do, as a result of the huge amounts involved, “organisations such as yours will be helping our country in the long run”.
He said there was a new provision in the law that mandated the NAB to take legal steps to recover the cost of informing the public about the non-accreditation status of offending institutions.
Mr Dattey, however, said it was important that prospective students and parents did due diligence on the accreditation status of institutions and the programmes they intended to pursue.