Challenges of increasing student intake in engineering disciplines the case of University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa

Abstract

For efficient and effective practice of engineering, people who aspire to be engineers should be groomed in an environment where quality is assured. In Ghana, the need to train more engineers and governments policy of increasing student's intake by about 10% each year has raised the number of student's enrolment in all the engineering disciplines to higher levels. Over the past 25 years, the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), with its strategic location, industrial environment, good academic facilities and capable staffhas been an excellent place for training graduates of proven ability in the engineering disciplines. However, the problem of increasing student's intake in the engineering discipline with the limited resources had been a major challenge. UMaT has produced a high caliber of engineering graduate in the mining and its allied disciplines. Student enrolment in the University has seen a gradual increase from the early 1990's to date. With increasing students' intake and the slow level of infrastructural development, lecture theatres cannot cater for combined classes for courses being undertaken by students. This has resulted in pressure on academic facilities such as lecture rooms, laboratories, libraries and computers. This also implies an additional work for technicians, laboratory assistant and lecturers handling such students. It is important that government and stake holders in the tertiary education restructure and provide more funding for engineering education. The study looks at the challenges of increasing student intake in the engineering discipline and effort to be made in solving these problems. To provide an in-depth analysis to the issue at stake, available literatures were examined, available facilities were assessed and a general interaction with stakeholders including students, laboratory technicians, lecturers and administrators were employed. A number of recommendations were made to deal with the problems among which are managing the class sizes, improving the residential facilities, teaching facilities, infrastructural development and improving the University/industrial relationship. © Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2013.