A BILL aimed at providing a legal framework for the establishment of a public communication technology university in Ghana has been passed.
Members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday unanimously approved the Ghana Communication Technology University Bill, 2020 which will allow the Government to take over the Ghana Technology University College (GTUC).
The bill, when assented to, would re-position the GTUC as a viable centre for higher education in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the country. It has 44 clauses with four sections.
At the second reading stage of the bill, the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye said the university should not simply be an addition to awarding public tertiary institutions, but must provide practical training in ICT for the development of the country.
For him, this will help deal with nagging issues in the cyber space and create more solutions to technological challenges of the country.
The bill was presented to the House and read the first time on Wednesday, 11th March, 2020, during which the Speaker referred it to the Committee on Education for consideration and report, in accordance with Article 106 (4) and (5) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Order 186 of the Standing Orders of the House.
Background
The Ghana Technology University College is a technology oriented institution of higher learning that is committed to providing an educational experience of the highest quality.
The University College was first established in 2005 with the name Ghana Telecom University College. It has its roots in the Ghana Telecom Flagship Training Centre which was the first of its kind in West Africa.
The Training Centre progressed rapidly through deregulation and privatisation to become the main source of teaching and certification in telecommunications engineering for Ghana Telecom employees, as well as other institutions in Ghana and West Africa.
The Ghana Telecom University College was granted accreditation by the National Accreditation Board on 30th March 2006 and officially inaugurated on 15th August, 2006.
In March 2012, the name of the University College was changed to Ghana Technology University College to reflect the transformation that had taken place and the introduction of new programmes in business and information technology.
Since then, it has provided long and short term education and training in information communication technology for diverse stakeholders both in Ghana and the West African sub- region.
Observation
The Committee observed that GTUC, since its establishment in 2006, has been at the forefront of providing long and short term education and training in information and communication technology albeit without the requisite legal regulatory framework governing its operations.
The Committee chairman, William Agyapong Quaittoo said members noted that GTUC offers certificate, diploma and degree programmes under its three core faculties – Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Computing and Information Systems, and Faculty of Information Technology (IT) and Faculty of Business.
According to him, GTUC also runs a Graduate School, which delivers postgraduate programmes in the areas of Engineering, Business Administration, Management and Information Communication Technology.
He disclosed that the GTUC had over 8,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and has its main campus at Tesano in Accra, and other campuses in Kumasi and Takoradi as well as learning centres in Ho, Koforidua and Nungua in Accra.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House