The Ho Polytechnic Tuesday added a School of Graduate Studies and a Faculty of Applied Social Sciences to its repertoire of academic disciplines.
The Polytechnic now has five Faculties; Engineering, Applied Science and Technology, Business and Management Studies, Art and Design and Liberal Arts giving effect to Schedule C of its current Statutes which spelt out the structure of Faculties it must establish.
“This decision is not new it has been on the drawing Board for five years as part of our five year strategic plan,” Professor Emmanuel Kodzo Sakyi, Rector, said at the inaugural event and swearing in of an interim boards of the two entities.
The action gave effect to Section 18 of the Polytechnic’s establishment Act and Statute 41 (a) which among others provides that “There shall be established a School of Research and Graduate Studies which shall be headed by a Dean, to be assisted by a Vice Dean”, Dr Christopher K. Amehoe, Registrar of the Polytechnic explained.
The acting Dean of the School of Graduate studies is Dr Peter Agbodza, with Mr Simon Amegashie-Viglo as the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences.
In a statement, Dr Ben Hoenyenugah, Vice-Rector, Academic Issues, said the Graduate School is expected to host all Post Bachelor programmes and the African Journal of Technical Education Management.
“This places enormous responsibility on Deans and Heads of Departments to develop innovative and national development oriented Master degree programmes in the shortest possible time.”
On the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Dr Hoenyenuga said, “This Faculty which has the mandate to humanise the Polytechnic also falls in line with existing faculties in Universities of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and Germany where the arts and social sciences find a place among engineering and science faculties.”
In line with the norms of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences will begin with the Departments of Multidisciplinary Studies and the Department of Applied Modern Languages and Communication.
The Polytechnic’s Chinese Intercultural Centre, Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology Transfer, HIV and Reproductive Health Centre, Centre for African Traditional Leadership and Governance and Centre, Conflict Transformation and Management all come under the this Faculty, Dr Hoenyenugah said.
“This makes Ho Polytechnic Internationally compliant,” he said.
Source GNA