Follow Us on Google
•Students can pursue 2 degrees concurrently
By Gabriel Dike
The president of Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), Prof. Clement Dizdonu, says the institute is modelled after foremost technology institutions in the world and that its graduates are competing well in the global market.
Prof. Dizdonu, who is in Nigeria on a recruitment drive, acknowledged that, since the inception of AIT in 2009, it has graduated large number of undergraduate and postgraduate students from Nigerian, African countries and also students from other countries.
He explained that AIT operates two academic programmes, regularly referred as campus-based and open university programmes, and that its students can pursue two degrees concurrently.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos as part of the recruitment drive, Prof. Dizdonu, described AIT as independent technology focused university and one of the sought after technology institutes in Africa.
Said he: “AIT is modeled on internationally recognized institutes of technologies like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, which is consistently ranked as the top technological universities in the world.”
According to him, AIT Board of Trustees is made up of former vice chancellors and seasoned administrators, who are desirous to equip students with quality technology education.
Dizdonu disclosed that the National Accreditation Board (NAB) accredits AIT and affiliated to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for the campus-based programmes and Open University of Malaysia (OUM) for its Open University courses.
He said AIT offers six campus-based undergraduate courses and certificate of Technology (CTech) and Diploma of Technology (DTech) courses in the six accredited programmes.
The AIT president said aside campus-based coursed, the institute offer NAB approved Open University programmes in collaboration with Open University of Malaysia, adding, “Our open university programmes are offered at the bachelor’s and master degrees as well as at PhD level.”
Dizdonu described AIT Open University courses as unique in African because it offers worker the opportunity to pursue further education and earn degrees without leaving their work or take study leave.
“AIT introduced the open university approach to education delivery in Africa in order to dramatically improve enrollment and broaden access to tertiary educated.”
He revealed that students enrolled in AIT open university have unlimited online access to lecture notes, e-books, e-library resources, other learning materials free, and provision of course materials online for download.
He listed the advantages of open university to include students offering only three subjects in a trimester, world class certification, programmes are affordable, qualified lecturers and supervisors and students receive technology based-education.
His words: “Our undergraduate students come from all over Africa pursuing high-value and modern degree courses. Some of our masters’ students are working in banks, others are senior IT personnel in leading companies, government ministries, some are lecturers and others are members of security agencies.
Dizdonu said that AIT has produced over 200 PhD students, which is the highest for private or public universities. He said some are lecturers, civil servants and senior manages from public and private establishments.
The president revealed that due to the excellent education being delivered at AIT to international students especially Nigerians, the Nigeria High Commission to Ghana had on many occasions endorsed the institute and urged Nigerians, who seek international degrees to do so at AIT
He added: ”AIT has modern technologies deployed to run all programems online without students necessarily coming to Ghana. Students don’t need to come to Accra to enjoy the AIT education. You can remain in Nigeria and still school in Ghana.
Prof. Dizdonu confirmed that destination of Nigerian students is to UK, followed by USA, Ghana and Malaysia, noting, top promoters of AIT studied abroad, so they have brought the quality of education to Africa.
“For us at AIT, quality is very important. For the past 12 years, I vet exam questions for AIT students. We had one or two cases of exam malpractice and the students faced panel.
“It is a taboo for lecturers to sell handouts to students. Initially, our lecturers were not happy over the issue of handouts, so we partnered with them on production of textbooks. No AIT students will buy handouts because they have all the learning materials online,” stated.
He said AIT is in the Nigeria education market to recruit because Nigerian students are enterprising and confirmed that many AIT undergraduates and PhD holders are from Nigeria and other Africa countries.
Dizdonu said AIT prospective students don’t need to go through bodies like the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and that what is required for admission is five credits in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in relevant subjects.
