Relief was the one word that was on the lips of management, staff, students and even graduands as the much anticipated 7th Congregation of Kumasi Polytechnic passed off peacefully last December without any hitch. What is even surprising is the praise being heaped on organizers of the congregation for the meticulous planning and execution of the programme which has won the admiration of many skeptics.

Prior to the congregation, there were agitations by 2009 and 2010 batch of K-Poly graduates, whose graduation and certification had been unnecessarily delayed. This was as a result of a hullabaloo involving NABPTEX on one side and the Kumasi Polytechnic on the other over certification and which delayed the congregation. When the ceremony was postponed from December 10th to December 22nd, several graduands, parents and some members of the staff of the polytechnic protested. Therefore, there was an understandable apprehension that the ceremony might be disrupted. But on the d-day, that was not to be, much to the relief of everyone, and fear gave way to praise for the organization. It is against this backdrop that the commendation is pleasantly surprising. For the first time in the history of Polytechnic education in Ghana, the congregation was held in two sessions and in fact many observers describe it as the best organized congregation ever in the history of K-Poly.

Another first for K-Poly was the maiden graduation of Bachelor of Technology in Computerised Accounting 2010/11 batch of graduands who were awarded their Bachelors’ certificate by the Polytechnic. In his report, the Rector, Professor Nicholas Nsowah Nuamah said the 7th Congregation was historic as K-Poly was, for the first time awarding the Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) degrees to 56 students who successfully completed their studies. Out of 4467 HND graduands, who were made up of 2009, 2010 and 2011 batches, 3164 were males while the remaining 1303 were females. For the Non-Tertiary graduands, a total of 7949, comprising of 3511 males and 4438 females were graduated.

Professor Nsowah-Nuamah noted that the Kumasi Polytechnic has, since 1993, come a long way in making its mark as a strong and creditable tertiary institution. “K-Poly has since been making steady strides in its quest to fulfill its mandate of training the critical manpower for commerce and industry in Ghana,” the Rector said. He noted that, in today’s global dispensation, the only way the Polytechnics can survive the competition they face from the traditional public universities and the myriad of private universities, is to be innovative and creative in establishing unique programmes, which would meet the needs of industry and the public sector. In view of this, he said, the Kumasi Polytechnic undertook a number of initiatives that resulted in major changes and tremendous expansion in the 2010/2011 academic year. According to him, there was a significant increase in staff strength, expansion of infrastructure and the introduction of more academic programmes and faculties.

Professor Nsowah-Nuamah said, to make K-Poly an international centre of learning, the polytechnic has established a number of academic collaborations with several foreign Universities for the purpose of running joint demand-driven  programmes, such as Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing. The rector said the linkage also fosters collaborative research in areas of mutual interest, staff and student exchange and facilitates interchange of research materials and information. “It is heartwarming to note that Kumasi Polytechnic is collaborating with the Yangtze University of China which will enable us introduce degree programmes in Medicine, Nursing, Petrochemical Engineering, and Oil and Gas Engineering, as from the 2012/2013 academic year,” he said. Professor Nsowah-Nuamah explained that students who will be admitted to study medicine will spend two years in Kumasi Polytechnic and four years at Yangtze University. For the other degree programmes, he said students will do two years studies at K-Poly and spend the remaining two years in China.

The Rector said there were discussions for more collaboration with some other universities, as a result of which several new degree programmes such as programmes in Pharmacy, Engineering and MBA will be launched. He announced that a Chinese Language Centre to be upgraded to Confucius Institute, the first of its kind in the country, is to be established at the Kumasi Polytechnic in collaboration with the Shansi Business College of Shanxi University, China. Professor Nsowah-Nuamah said the Centre will be open to Ghanaians who may wish to study the Chinese Language, especially businessmen and women who travel to China.