THE Chief Inspector of Schools, Dr George Afeti has said polytechnics are not preparatory schools to prepare senior high school students to enter the universities.
Dr Afeti also emphasised that polytechnics were not bus stops where students would have to wait to enter other preferred tertiary institutions.
Rather, he said they were tertiary educational institutions awarding work-related professional qualifications of higher national diplomas for the holders to earn a decent living and also help in national development.
Dr Afeti, a former principal of the Ho Polytechnic made the remark at the 15th matriculation of the Koforidua Polytechnic at Koforidua.
In all, 2,026 new students out of which 794 are women have been admitted to pursue various courses.
According to Dr Afeti, polytechnic education was career-focused, which enabled the graduates to acquire knowledge and skills in areas such as Accountancy, Automobile Engineering, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Banking and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), after which they worked to support national development.
He said polytechnic students were already in the right institutions and that they could further their studies to obtain higher qualification such as bachelor’s degrees in other fields at the polytechnic institutions.
Dr Afeti said what was needed was for polytechnic graduates to re-assert themselves in their chosen field and excel to move society forward, adding that they should cultivate the spirit of voluntarism and help resolve crises.
Earlier, the acting Rector of the Koforidua Polytechnic, Mr Samuel Okae-Adjei said two new Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes in Secretaryship and Management Studies and Building Technology had been introduced, increasing the number of HND courses from 11 to 13.
He also hinted that plans were far advanced for the award of HND in Civil Engineering this academic year and that the required equipment for the smooth take-off of the programmes had been put in place to give the students the much-needed learning experience to be relevant in the working world.
Other infrastructural projects such as a four-storey lecture hall/office and another five-storey building for the School of Engineering as well as staff bungalows were being built to enhance teaching and learning.
With regard to academic performance and discipline on the part of students, he noted that those who did not do well in their programmes as well as those who flouted the rules of the institution had to be withdrawn.
Mr Okae-Adjei, therefore, asked the students to be serious with their studies and also be disciplined at all times.
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