C-Poly students boycott lectures

Students of the Cape Coast Polytechnic have boycotted lectures.

This follows the refusal of government to include the institution in the first list of polytechnics to be converted into technical universities.

This also comes on the back of a protest from the youth of Cape Coast for the inclusion of the Cape Coast polytechnic in the first phase of the conversion.

Under a new policy to improve technical education in the country, government is considering upgrading six of the ten polytechnics into universities in September 2016.

Ahiagba Newman Selorm, the SRC President of the University Of Cape Coast said students have not even returned to the campus for their registration.

"As at now we are supposed to resume lectures but the students are saying that until the conversion, they will never go to class until they hear the President has pronounced that Cape-Coast polytechnic is going to be converted.

"So we are waiting and until the government tells us what we want to hear we are not going to class…the students will stay at home and enjoy."

According to the SRC president, only 34 applicants have purchased their admission forms to study at the Cape Coast Polytechnic since it was omitted from the list of polytechnics being upgraded.

Six out of the ten polytechnics have made the cut for the conversion to technical universities as promised by the NDC administration.

The six as announced by President Mahama in the State of the Nation address on February 25, 2016 are Kumasi, Ho , Takoradi, Sunyani , Accra and Koforidua polytechnics. The six according to the president made the 16 point criteria for the conversion.

Some critics in the education sector have argued against this conversion. They contend that the conversion cannot happen without the requisite infrastructure, a huge investment government may not have the finances to engage in.

But Deputy minister of Education in charge of tertiary Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa says the necessary infrastructure upgrade will be done gradually.