Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has held its first virtual matriculation ceremony for fresh men/women who gained admission into the University for 2020/2021 Academic Year.
Addressing the matriculants, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson formally welcomed the freshmen and women to the best university in Ghana and the 12th best in Africa. She observed that matriculation is the formal process by which new students are entered into the Register of a University. She affirmed that the ceremony is to admit students as junior members of the KNUST.
The Vice-Chancellor stressed that the matriculation ceremony is very significant because it affords fresh students the opportunity to pledge their allegiance to the authority of the University through the administration of the matriculation oath. She advised them that the University takes the oath very seriously and will not hesitate to apply the requisite sanctions if they violate the tenets of the oath which they have sworn.
On Coronavirus pandemic, Professor Mrs. Dickson reminded the students that COVID-19 is real, and that all must endeavour to keep the virus at bay and stay healthy to be able to go through the Academic Year successfully. She said that the only means of keeping safe and keeping our loved ones safe is by adhering strictly to the safety protocols outlined by Management of the University.
The Vice-Chancellor said that KNUST believes in an all-inclusive education and has therefore taken steps to support some needy but brilliant students with electronic gadgets for e-learning through the “Support One Needy Student with One Laptop” (SONSOL) project. She said that the “SONSOL” project has so far received tremendous push from stakeholders with the donation of about 450 laptops.
Professor Dickson revealed that for this Academic Year, a total of sixty-eight thousand, two hundred and Nine (68,209) applicants applied for admission. Out of this number, fifty-four thousand and Nine (54,009) qualified. She mentioned that out of the total admission letters issued so far twenty-eight thousand four hundred and seventy-nine (28,479) have registered for both Undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Out of this number, seventeen thousand four hundred and thirty-eight (17,438) representing (61%) are males and eleven thousand and forty-one (11,041) representing (39%) are females.
The Vice-Chancellor also announced that the number of girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) continues to increase; with female intake increasing by 11.23% in this year’s admission.