Dr Sylvester Achio, has assumed the position of Rector of the Accra Polytechnic, with a pledge to work hard to make the polytechnic a centre of excellence. He said he would be fair and firm in pursuit of the strategised plan for the development of the institution. Dr Achio, who has since been inducted into office, takes over from Dr Festus Addo-Yobo, whose tenure of office came to an end on June 30, 2012. The new rector, 55, is a native of Nayagenia, a suburb of Navrongo in the Kasena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region. Dr Achio holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the Academy of Sciences, Institute of Microbiology and Virology in Kazakhstan, MSc. Agriculture (Agronomy) from the Agricultural Institute of Kazakhstan, formerly of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). The rector becomes the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Polytechnic, and is accountable to the governing council as the academic and administrative head. Dr Achio had since 1997 served in various capacities of the polytechnic including the position of Vice Principal. He had also served as the Head and Coordinator of the Research and Innovation Centre. At the induction ceremony, which happened to be the first at the polytechnic, Dr Achio commended the search committee that recommended him for the position, and the governing council of the polytechnic for the confidence reposed in him. “In my application letter and also when I was before the interview panel for the position of rector of Accra Polytechnic, I indicated my desire to turn Accra Polytechnic into a centre of excellence in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, he said. He paid glowing tribute the past rectors, including Dr Nana Baah-Boakye, Prof. Ralph Asabere and Dr Addo-Yobo, for the various roles they played in transforming the polytechnic. Education Minister, Mr Lee Ocran, said polytechnics were at the heart of the economic transformation of the country, adding that the success of industrialisation depended generally on the availability of a technical workforce that was adequately equipped with technical skills. The rationale for polytechnic, he said, was to produce the core of a technical workforce. He congratulated the new rector on his appointment. The Chairman of the Governing Council of the Polytechnic, Prof. Joshua Alabi, commended the past rector for his four years of dedicated service. “The governing council recognises your achievements over the period that you superintended as rector. He called for cooperation and collaboration of the polytechnic community, including the alumni. The immediate past rector, Dr Addo-Yobo, expressed the hope that the polytechnic would retain the high technical content for which it was noted, and “instill into our students the drive towards excellence, adherence to standard codes of practice and application of common sense.”