A consignment of books, which were donated by a group of Scottish professors to the Kumasi Polytechnic, has been presented to the institution’s library at a short ceremony. The consignment cost about £10,000 (ten thousand pounds sterling), and the donation is the third of its kind by the same benefactors, who are all professors of the Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland. The books covered programmes such as Pharmacology, Anatomy, Pharmacy, Computer Science, Statistics, Project Management, Food and Nutrition, Building Engineering, Applied Science, Nursing and Human Physiology.

The donors are Prof. Les Wood, Prof. Kofi Aidoo, Prof. Douglas Bovell and Dr. Julie Armstrong, all staff of the School of Health and Life Sciences, GCU and Professor James Somerville of the Centre for Energy and Built Environment at the same university. A Senior Lecturer of Kumasi Polytechnic, Dr. Mrs. Patricia Owusu-Darko, who presented the books on behalf of the donors, said the donation was primarily aimed at enhancing teaching, learning and research work at the Polytechnic.

Dr. Mrs. Owusu–Darko, who is also the Director of International Relations of the Polytechnic, paid glowing tribute to Prof. Kofi Aidoo, a Ghanaian academic at GCU, for masterminding the donations by the Scottish group to the Kumasi Polytechnic which is becoming an annual tradition.

“Prof Aidoo and his colleagues from Glasgow Caledonian University have so far helped to increase the stock of research books at the Kumasi Polytechnic and thereby making it possible for students of the Polytechnic and other tertiary institutions in the Kumasi metropolis to visit the library regularly to undertake research work,” she said.

According to Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Darko, her collaborations with Prof. Aidoo, while she was studying at the Glasgow Caledonian University, culminated in the donations which she noted, had resulted in improved academic standards in the Polytechnic. She appealed to the Polytechnic librarian to take good care of the books to ensure that they maintain a pristine appearance to enable many students and lecturers benefit from them.

The Rector of the Polytechnic, Prof. Nicholas Nsowah-Nuamah who received the books on behalf of the institution commended the donors for their kindness. Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah announced that the Kumasi Polytechnic would, from next academic year start degree programmes in Petrochemical Engineering and four other areas of study. These include Nursing, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Medical Laboratory Science and Industrial Laboratory. He said this would be done in collaboration with some United States and Chinese universities. The goal, he said, is to build the competencies and capacity of Ghanaian students for those sectors. 

Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah said the donation could not have come at a better time given the relevance of the books to the new programmes the Polytechnic is introducing. According to the Rector, the gesture was not only enhancing academic work but was also motivating students to take keen interest in research.