Maiden access course results released

Page 17
08-09-08


THE results of the maiden access course for technical and vocational school graduates organised by the National Board for Professional and Technicians Examination (NABPTEX) have been released.
In all 140 applicants who undertook the one-year course were successful in the examination and have gained admission to five polytechnics. They are: Ho Polytechnic, 29; Cape Coast Polytechnic, 20; Kumasi Polytechnic, 42; Takoradi Polytechnic, 16, and Sunyani Polytechnic, 33.
The one-year course in English, Mathematics and Science is to create an avenue through which technical and vocational school graduates will have direct admission to the polytechnics to pursue Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes.
Hitherto, a technical and vocational school graduate had to do craftman course work for two years and then undertake an advanced craftman course before doing the technician one, two and three.
The Executive Secretary of NABPTEX, Mr Ben Antwi-Boasiako, said the access course was not for senior high school graduates but technical and vocational school graduates.
Studies, he said, had shown that the percentage of senior high school graduates who were admitted by the polytechnics to HND programmes was higher than that of candidates from technical and vocational schools.
“It is to address this lack of parity that NABPTEX decided to run the course to facilitate equity in the opportunities of both products of technical and vocational candidates and senior high school candidates,” he said.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako noted that the rationale for polytechnic education would be defeated if proper foundation for HND programmes was not laid firmly in the ideals of technical and vocational philosophy.
“For polytechnic education to be relevant and sustainable there is the need to focus on people who have the appropriate exposure and background in technical and vocational education. Unfortunately, it has been noticed that the technical and vocational education curriculum is not focused on English, Mathematics and Science,” he said.
As a result, he said, technical and vocational school graduates who should benefit from the HND programme were not admitted to polytechnics, adding that there was, therefore, the need to help them to acquire a foundation for the courses that were run at the HND level, hence the access programme.
Meanwhile, NABPTEX has released the results of the Accra and Wa polytechnics. The results could not meet the deadline for the submission of results of students.
This brings the total number of students who have been awarded HND this year to 7,179. NABPTEX had initially released the results of eight polytechnics.