A total of Six Thousand One Hundred and Sixty-Six students have successfully graduated from Takoradi Technical University for the 2022/2023 Academic Year. Speaking at the 23rd Congregation of TTU, the Vice Chancellor, Rev. Prof. John Frank Eshun said this represents a 30% increase over last year’s number made possible by introduction of new programmes.
“This is as a result of the graduation of first batch of four (4) years Bachelor of Technology degree programmes. In all, eleven (11) will be awarded Master degrees, two thousand three hundred and forty-two (2,342) will be awarded Bachelor of Technology degrees, three thousand one hundred and sixty nine (3,169) to be awarded Higher National Diplomas, two hundred and thirty-six, (236) to receive Diplomas of Technology, three hundred and eighty-eight (388) will receive Competency Based Training certificates and 20 will receive certificate in short courses’’, he said.
While highlighting TTU’s envious achievement towards ensuring inclusive education, Rev. Prof. Eshun said the 23rd congregation saw another 24 disabled persons graduating from TTU.
“a total of twenty-four (24) students with disabilities, comprising twenty (20) hearing-impaired students and four (4) others with physical disabilities, are among the graduands. This brings the total number of deaf students that the University has produced to one hundred and sixty-four (164) since the establishment of the Disability Support and Services Unit in 2017. This number is the largest among all universities in Ghana during this period. This year 2023, commemorates five (5) years since the establishment of the Disability Support and Service Unit for Deaf Education at Takoradi Technical University. The integration of hearing-impaired students into the regular stream is unique with our university, but comes with the challenges of instructional transfer, language acquisition and the appreciation of abstract concepts. Nonetheless, the University remains committed to our agenda of pursuing an inclusive education that reflects the special needs of these exceptional learners at the University’’, he added.
He however appealed for more funding support to enable the University sustain its Disability Support unit and enable more disables to access TVET education at the highest level.
“With the advancement of information technology, the University intends to utilise assistive technology including hearing aids and special laptops to assist in the transfer of classroom and workshop instruction to these special students. However, the University requests the corporate world and the global community for funding for this purpose’’, he added.
In an effort by the University to increase its programme options, the Vice Chancellor also announced that Takoradi Technical University has received accreditation for six new Master of Technology programmes.
“I am happy to announce that for this year, a total of six new MTech programmes received accreditation…the accredited MTech programmes are: Innovation and Enterprise Development, Mechanical Engineering, Power Production Systems and Integration, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Mathematics and Statistics and Construction Engineering Management”, he mentioned.
He also added that Takoradi Technical University through the European Union-funded Twin-Cities in Sustainable Partnership Project, TCSPP, is collaborating with the Maritime Institute of Palermo-Italy to establish a Maritime Training Centre to provide professional maritime skills training and certification with the International Maritime Organization’s standards.
Prof. John Frank Eshun congratulated the graduands for their successful completion and urged them to be good ambassadors of TTU.
More importantly, the Vice Chancellor expressed the University’s gratitude to the TTU Alumni and various institutions and partners for their contributions towards the University’s progress.
The Chairman of the TTU Governing Council, Dr. Samuel Amo Tobin, also speaking at the 23rd Congregation said management of TTU have done a lot over the period and however called on government to support the University in the provision of infrastructure; lecture theaters, laboratories, and workshops to help meet the ever-growing number of students and their learning demands at the University.
“in view of the critical role Technical University education plays in the nation’s development, there is no doubt that the knowledge and skills acquired by these graduands will contribute immensely to the realization of our nation’s vision of becoming a developed country in the nearest future. This achievement will not have been possible without the relentless efforts of Management, members of faculty, administrators, technicians and other staff with complementing skills required for the smooth running of the University…I will like to take this opportunity to appeal to the Government, the Ministry of Education and the Western Regional Coordinating Council to come to the aid of the University in the provision of infrastructure; lecture theaters, laboratories, and workshops to help meet the ever growing number of students in the University” he said.
In an address read on behalf of the Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Adutwum, he expressed government’s committed towards increasing Ghana’s Gross Tertiary Education Ratio from the current 20 percent to 40 percent by 2030.
In all, 322 Bachelor of Technology graduates were awarded First Class, with 1,596 also obtaining second class upper. For Higher National Diplomas, 194 received First Class, whiles 1,776 obtained Second Class Upper.
The 2022/2023 Disability Unit’s Barrier-Breaking First-class award was received by Ms. Buabeng Ama Andowa, a B-Tech Graphics graduate.
The Overall Best Graduating Student for the TTU 23rd Congregation was received by Michelle Akoto Boateng, a Tourism Management student, who won five awards.
Her awards included Best graduating female for Applied Science, Best graduating student for Applied Science, Overall Best graduating HND student and Best graduating HND female student.
