The labour union and the management of the Tamale Polytechnic have urged the government to halt any moves against raising the institution to a technical university status.
In a petition, the management of the school said they would resist government’s attempt to launch the institution as a polytechnic instead of a technical university.
The school authorities indicated that the delay in inaugurating a technical university council for the school is a deliberate effort to sideline the school and the ministry of education’s initial plans to restructure the polytechnic into a university status.
The Minister of Education, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, on 8th September, 2017, inaugurated the Accra, Kumasi, Koforidua, Takoradi, Sunyani and Ho Technical Universities’ Governing Councils in line with the Technical University Act 922, 2016.
Tamale Polytechnic was left out with the reason that it had only received an ‘executive order’ by the previous government and as such, could not be recognized as a technical university since it was not part of the schedule of technical university in Act 922.
The authorities of the school have therefore, called on the government to convert the school into a technical university and also inaugurate a council for the smooth administration of the institution.
The chairman of the polytechnic, Issahaku Salifu, told DAILY GUIDE that they were surprised and disappointed about the manner in which the education minister had handled the inauguration of the governing council of the institution.
He noted that the minister was frustrating the efforts of the present and the past governments to provide a technical university education for the people of the Northern Region.
Mr Issahaku Salifu called on the people of the Northern Region as well as stakeholders to stand up against the deliberate attempt by government to downgrade Tamale Polytechnic.
Receiving the petition of the school authorities on behalf of the president, the Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed, pledged his support and assured the authorities of the school that he would see to it that their grievances were channeled to the presidency and the right decisions and actions taken.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale