The matriculation ceremony of the 2013/2014 batch of students of KNUST was held from the 3rd through to the 5th of October, 2013, at the New Central Classroom Block Auditorium. The ceremony which was heavily attended marked the formal acceptance of the fresh students as junior members in statu pupillary.
In an address, the Vice Chancellor, Professor William Otoo Ellis, congratulated the students for making it to this great institution in spite of this year’s very hectic and competitive admission exercise. He explained that, the university offered admission to an estimated 17,748 students out of a total of 52,150 applicants. Out of the students admitted, 1,501 were from less endowed schools as compared to only 95 who were admitted last year. He added that the university admitted students into the KNUST-Zoomlion Institute of Sanitation and Waste Management (KISWAM) at Adjiriganom near East Legon.
He went on to say that in an attempt to control unnecessary delays and long queues, the university implemented the use of online application and registration for regular as well as parallel programs. In addition, student registration also included biometric fingerprint registration to help eliminate impersonation and late registration. Payments of fees and hall accommodation were done at the various banks. These are all strategic attempts to help provide a stress-free access to the services of the university.
He encouraged the students to patronize the Bulk SMS and Special Voice Bundle Services technology. This is the provision of special SIM cards with credit for SMS and voice data for relaying information relating to security, academic issues and essential general notices. The aim of this service is to enhance communication among students and staff of the university. This would help reduce paper/ poster notices on the campus. He added that the university, with the support of the Ghana Police Force (Ashanti Region), was constructing two police posts at Ayeduase and Kotei to help strengthen security for the off-campus students.
The Vice Chancellor advised the students to be mindful of their actions and inactions. He further observed that the students should be guided by the core values of the university: leadership in innovation and technology, a culture of excellence, diversity and equal opportunity for all and integrity and stewardship of resources.
On behalf of the Governing Council, the teaching and non-teaching staff of the University, he congratulated the freshmen for being considered worthy to gain admission into the great and prestigious University and prayed that the good Lord would bless their stay on campus.
