The Vice-Chancellor of the Sunyani Technical University (STU), Prof. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, has appealed to the government, organizations, individuals, and the media to support the institution in its quest to provide high-level manpower for development.

He said the support through the STU Endowment Fund would help them raise infrastructure to the level that befits their objectives.

The VC made the appeal during a media engagement ahead of the 55th-anniversary celebration of the University in Sunyani in the Bono Region.

The anniversary is themed: “STU, 55 years of progress and achievement in TVET and Engineering Education: Mobilizing Excellence for Leadership in Ghana’s Industrialization Agenda”.

The STU endowment fund is to help reduce the needs of the university and drive forward its human capital and infrastructure development per the university’s strategic and master plans.

Whilst the strategic plan spells out the development of the university within a five-year plan (2020-2025), the master plan focuses on the long-term sustainable infrastructural development of the institution.

The fund, launched in April 2022, has a target of 300 Million cedis by 2025 and beyond, with an initial target of 50 Million cedis in the first year.

To achieve this, Prof. Adinkrah-Appiah appealed to the media to use its esteemed platforms to help them reach out to the stakeholders for the expected support.

 “You (media) are to be our transmission lines to carry out our message to the world, and once you are committed to this course, we believe the university will achieve its aim and purpose of celebrating the 55th anniversary and establishing the endowment fund”, he said, and added that “the fund is expected to give us the resources that would enable us to execute the new master plan earmarked for the university”.

“In the master plan, we need to put up some new structures to let the university get the status that befits a very excellent university so that we can carry out our mandate – providing skills to the young people to help build a better economy for Ghana”, he said.

He, therefore, appealed to all stakeholders to donate to the fund to help them achieve their target for the university.

Faculty, academic and research areas, staff and students housing, university hospital, eco-parks, sporting complex, religious areas, museum, 5,000 capacity auditorium, and basic school, among others, are some areas the fund would help develop.

The STU registrar, Samuel Ankama Obour, acknowledged the insufficient government support, hence the need to get aid from organizations, individuals, and philanthropists.

He also appealed to the media to use their sources to link them to other stakeholders who could be of help.

Speaking on behalf of the media, the Brong Ahafo Secretary of the Ghana Journalist Association, Dennis Peprah, assured that they would continue to collaborate with the management for the good of the university.

The planning committee chairman, Prof. Jones Lewis Arthur, said as part of the ongoing 55th STU anniversary celebration, they have planned an excellence leadership lecture series in August and a community outreach and stakeholder engagements in September.

The university’s alumni are also expected to be outdoored in November 2022 and the climax of the anniversary is scheduled to take place on November 5, 2022, with a grand durbar, a fundraising dinner, and awards night with captains of industries to raise funds to support the STU endowment fund.

Meanwhile, some students have reiterated the need to construct a footbridge over the Sunyani-Kumasi main road to the school.

A student, Iddrisu Baba-Mamata, said it’s a challenge to cross the road, especially, when the traffic lights are not functioning. She said it sometimes results in drivers knocking down students and, therefore, appealed to the government to come to their aid.

In a reaction, the STU VC, Prof. Adinkrah-Appiah, said they are in touch with the Regional Coordinating Council after sending a memo to the President and hope support will soon come to help put up the footbridge to alleviate the challenges of the students and pedestrians.