Reverend Professor John Frank Eshun, has been invested and inducted into the office as Vice Chancellor of the Takoradi Technical University at Takoradi (TTU) here in the Western Region.
Prof. Victor Kweku Bondzie Micah, Mr Moses Maclean Abnory and Dr Gabriel Sam Ahinful were also inducted into office as Pro-Vice Chancellor, Registrar and Director of Finance respectively.
Prof. Eshun in his inaugural speech said he would strictly adhere to the five-year Strategic Plan he put in place when he was made the rector of the Takoradi Polytechnic with more advanced methods.
He mentioned the review of existing governance documents, provision of physical infrastructure, continuous improvement of ICT infrastructure, rebranding the institution, introducing more technical oriented programmes among others for the total transformation of the university into what he termed Strategic Plan into 2025.
According to him, his vision was to position TTU as the Centre of Excellence for Tertiary TVET and Applied Research to drive economic growth to ensure that the university delivered on its core mandate of technical education in the Oil and Gas Engineering adding, “the workshops and research laboratory will be refurbished and retooled to an acceptable standard fit for its intended purpose”.
Prof. Eshun indicated that it would also require the development of the human resource capacity to promote effectiveness and excellence in teaching, learning and the proper administration as well as research and innovation to make the institution a preferred place of learning in the engineering and technical fields.
Adding, “ as a public institution, the mission extended beyond classrooms, laboratories and campus boundaries adding “our highly successful alumni and industry partners working hand-in-hand with faculties, staff and students would create a network of engagement that would impact our surroundings nationally and internationally deepening our focus on diversification of faculty and staff”.
Prof. Eshun said the new TTU short-term goals were to embark on research that meet the demands of the region’s industries and business including agri-business, education, technology, the arts and sciences.
The Vice Chancellor pledged to work with the new officers who were inducted into the various offices to make the institution a great one in the West African Sub-region.
The Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, said the educational landscape of the nation was changing and ought to reflect the times and be responsive to critical needs of society.
He noted that the transition from the status of polytechnic to a technical university was one that could lose direction if it was not carefully navigated and shepherded so the need arose for all institutions in that category to quickly put their acts together and appoint respective executive heads in accordance with laid down regulations.
The minister stated that in Africa’s educational system, the capacity in skills development was low; the inability to generate knowledge to enable the development of skills among the youth and the workforce was highly inadequate.
The Chairperson of the governing council of TTU, Dr Henrietta Abane earlier in her welcome address, observed that as a young university they needed young energetic key officers to steer the affairs and manage the day-to-day running of the institute.
She reminded the new inductees that the public would be watching keenly and interested in how they would run the university considering the oath they took in public.
FROM PETER GBAMBILA-TAKORADI
