By Nathaniel Glover-Meni Takoradi Polytechnic (T-Poly) is at the cusp of greatness; but will it canter to victory? The Rector of the Polytechnic, Reverend Professor Daniel Nyarko, believes that T-Poly will not only saunter to success, but also, he is confident that measures being initiated by his administration will spur the school to advance a new phase in technical education in the country. Empty promises? Professor Nyarko disagrees, maintaining that his administration will persevere, in line with the Polytechnic’s vision, to achieve excellence in manpower training and action research in order to facilitate the economic development of Ghana in general and the Western Region in particular. In achieving the objective of rejuvenating the school, the Polytechnic’s management has set for itself ambitious goals, the first of which is the application of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) in the delivery of lessons. The implementation of this policy will lead to the incorporation of ICT into the traditional mode of teaching by installing LCD projectors in classrooms and lecture theatres to improve the delivery of lessons. The aim is to equip students with competencies that will put them ahead of their peers in a competitive globalized job arena. Another step that authorities of T-Poly have initiated, which, they hope would cement the Polytechnic’s image as an inspiring centre of scholarship, is the decision to graduate students six months after writing their final examinations. The first batch of such students graduated on December 18, 2010. It was a historic event, as the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, became the first very high ranking state official to grace the occasion since the Polytechnic gained tertiary status in 1992. This is a positive policy change, as compared to the anguish students had to endure in the past, waiting two years for their results. It is worth stating that the late release of Higher National Diploma certificates in the past somehow stalled the progress of such students, denying them immediate entry into the job market. It also delayed the promotion of those that came to the school on study-leave, as well as scuttling the opportunity of those aspiring for further studies. Mr. Michael Okine, who was adjudged the best graduating student with an HND in Statistics, corroborates this view, describing the Congregation as a “unique one” that puts him in a pole position in getting a job compared to his peers in some other schools who have to wait for over one year for their certificates. Mr. Patrick Dankyi, who graduated with a first class HND in Mechanical Engineering, concurs using the phrase “good” in describing the novel congregation. Dankyi is however futuristic, hoping that the Nyarko administration will not rest on its laurels but will eventually organize congregations within three months after the final papers. One other initiative being pursued by the Polytechnic to transform the school and contribute to the industrial development of the country is the decision to position the people of the Western Region to benefit from the wealth of the emerging petroleum industry. Consequently, management has launched a number of demand-driven programmes which are geared towards enhancing the skills of the youth to play active and meaningful economic roles for the rapid development of the country. Among the programmes being mounted are technician courses in process engineering, logistics and transport, aircraft maintenance and welding. This bold foray into the oil and gas sector received the endorsement of the Vice-President, John Dramani Mahama, when management of the Polytechnic paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu, recently. Vice-President Mahama specifically charged the leaders of the Polytechnic to help train middle level technicians required for the budding industry. According to him, T-Poly must serve as the pivot in training middle level manpower that the country requires for the oil industry, not because it is the tertiary institution closest to the oil fields, but because of a state policy requiring 90 per cent local content in the petro-chemical industry of the country. It is essential to state that the attempt to mount oil and gas courses has paid off significantly. One clear dividend of this effort is the resolution by the key partners in the development of the Jubilee Oil Field, led by Tullow Oil, to partner with T-Poly in the area of process engineering. Tullow has since acquired the equipment to be used in training students in the art of process engineering, controls and instrumentation, all key manpower needs of the up-and-coming industry. In terms of infrastructural development, the Polytechnic is to undertake the modernization of laboratories and workshops, as well as completing on-going projects such as a four-storey School of Applied Arts building. The initiation and completion of such projects will ease the squeeze on such facilities at the moment. The squeeze on academic facilities has been a source of worry for students. Mr. Godfred Schandorf, the Relations Officer of the Students’ Representative Council, supports the investment in new lecture theatres, expansion of the existing library, and procuring of extra furniture for the classrooms.