The Deputy Minister in-charge of Tertiary education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has asked authorities of the Cape Coast Polytechnic to remain calm and work towards satisfying the requirements of becoming a technical university.
Angry students and alumni of the school staged a protest on Tuesday over their exclusion from the technical universities list.
According to them, the exclusion is affecting enrolment at the school.
So far, 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.
But the Cape Coast polytechnic alumni association has said enrollment will be affected drastically and this is evident in the polytechnic forms already on the market.
See related: Ho Polytechnic offers Masters programme
In an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, The Deputy Minister in-charge of Tertiary education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said government did not err in the conversion process, as a technical committee was set up to advice on the criteria to be used for the conversion.
He said Cape Coast Polytechnic should work towards meeting the requirements and apply to the NCCTE for reassessment.
"It is not a wholesale thing we are doing; just a mere nomenclature change; No. We want to really get it right," he added.
He said government is investing and scaling up resources at the centre to ensure success of the conversion of polytechnics into technical universities.