By Bernice Bessey
The Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), a technology-focused private university, graduated its first batch of PhD students during the institution’s 9th Graduation Congregation held recently in Accra.
According to Professor Clement Dzidonu, President of AIT, graduating students with PhDs is a major achievement of the institution since it is barely seven years.
Professor Clement Dzidonu, speaking during the AIT 9th Graduation Congregation, which witnessed the graduation of 240 Bachelor’s degree holders, indicated that AIT is the first private university in Ghana to successfully offer, run and graduate students on an internationally benchmarked Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree programme.
According to him, this is no small achievement if put within the context of the fact that the PhD per capita of Ghana is just 2.72 per million population.
He noted the fact that over 250 PhD students are now enrolled at the school, which is known as one of the leading post-graduate research institutions on the continent, adding: “AIT will be graduating more PhDs in Business Administration, Engineering, and Information Technology before the close of the year.”
The Deputy Minister for Education, responsible in charge of Tertiary, Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa, who was the Special Guest of Honour, congratulated the university for mounting mainly science, technology and engineering programmes, which, in his view, was in line with the government’s determination to implement and enforce the 60:40 policy guidelines, aimed at giving priority to science, mathematics and engineering programmes in our tertiary institutions.
He announced that in line with this, the Ministry of Education, through the National Accreditation Board (NAB) and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), had drawn-up new guidelines that will ensure that the accreditation of new universities and academic programmes meets these guidelines.
The Deputy Minister noted that in the future, for a new university to be approved for accreditation, it must, more or less, show that it is going to be another Accra Institute of Technology. Mr. Osei-Boakye, Executive Manager for Admissions and Operations at AIT, reassured the Deputy Minister that though AIT offers courses in the humanities, its main focus is training students in technology.
Professor Francis K. Allotey, Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees, announced that the institute will elect individuals such as Professor Goolam Mohamedbhai, who is the Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Mauritius; former Secretary General of the Association of African Universities (AAU); former President of the International Association of Universities (IAU) and the former Chairman of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
The other is Professor Anuwar Ali, former Vice Chancellor of the National University of Malaysia; former President and Vice Chancellor of the Open University of Malaysia and member of the Higher Education Council of Malaysia to serve on the board.
“With these new members, the AIT Board of Trustees now boasts of five former Vice Chancellors of world-class universities; there is no doubt that AIT has the most high-powered and academically distinguished University Board on the African continent,” he stated proudly.
The post AIT Graduates PhD Students appeared first on Ghanaian Chronicle.