Undergraduates 21,285 Chancellor Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II Founded 1952 | Established 1952 Postgraduates 2,306 Total enrollment 23,591 (2011) Phone +233 32 206 0438 | |
 | ||
Motto in English The knot of wisdom is untied only by the wise Vice-Chancellor Professor Kwasi Obiri-Danso Motto Nyansapɔ wɔsane no badwenma (Ashanti Twi, The knot of wisdom is untied only by the wise) Undergraduate tuition and fees 211.43 GHS (2011), International tuition: 4,500 USD (2011) Notable alumni Kofi Annan, Albert Abongo, Amma Darko, Samuel Koranteng‑Pipim, Hackman Owusu‑Agyeman Similar University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast, University of Educatio, University for Develop, University of Mines and Tech Profiles | ||
Kwame nkrumah university of science and technology kumasi
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is a university in Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is the public university established in the country, as well as the largest university in Kumasi Metropolis and Ashanti. KNUST has its roots in the plans of the King Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I to establish a university in Kumasi as part of his drive towards modernization of his Ashanti kingdom. This plan never came to fruition due to the clash between British empire expansion and the desire for King Prempeh I to preserve his Ashanti kingdom's independence.
Contents
- Kwame nkrumah university of science and technology kumasi
- Kwame nkrumah university
- Early history
- Principal officers
- Governing body
- Student participation in university administration
- Collegiate system
- Student accommodation
- Hostels for continuing students
- International students
- Academics
- College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
- College of Health Sciences
- College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- College of Arts and Built Environment
- College of Engineering
- College of Science
- Institute of Distance Learning
- Library and digital resources
- Affiliated institutions
- Research centres
- References
However, his younger brother and successor, King Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh II, upon ascending to the Golden Stool in 1935, continued with this vision. Events in the Gold Coast in the 1940s played into his hands. First there was the establishment of the University College of the Gold Coast. Second there were the 1948 riots and the consequent Watson Commission report which recommended that a university of sciences be established in Kumasi. Thus, in 1949, the dream of the Prempehs became a reality when building started on what was to be called the Kumasi College of Technology.
The Kumasi College of Technology offered admission to its first students to the engineering faculty in 1951 (they entered in 1952), and an Act of Parliament gave the university its legal basis as the Kumasi College of Technology in 1952. The nucleus of the college was formed from 200 teacher training students transferred from Achimota in the Greater Accra Region. The college was affiliated to the University of London. In 1961, the college was granted full university status.
The main university campus, which is about seven square miles in area, is about eight miles (13 km) to the east of Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital.
Kwame nkrumah university
Early history
The Kumasi College of Technology opened officially on 22 January 1952 with 200 teacher training students transferred from Achimota, to form the nucleus of the new college. In October 1952, the School of Engineering and the Department of Commerce were established and the first students were admitted. A Pharmacy Department was established in January 1953, with the transfer of the former School of Pharmacy from Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, to the college. The department ran a two-year comprehensive course in Pharmacy leading to the award of the Pharmacy Board Certificate. A Department of Agriculture was opened in the same year to provide ad hoc courses of varying duration, from a few terms to three years, for the Ministry of Agriculture. A Department of General Studies was instituted to prepare students for the Higher School Certificate Examinations in Science and Arts subjects and to give instruction in subjects as requested by the other departments.
From 1952 to 1955, the School of Engineering prepared students for professional qualifications only. In 1955, the school embarked on courses leading to the University of London Bachelor of Engineering External Degree Examinations.
In 1957, the School of Architecture, Town Planning and Building was inaugurated. Its first students were admitted in January 1958, for professional courses. As the college expanded, it was decided to make the Kumasi College of Technology a purely science and technology institution. In pursuit of this policy, the Teacher Training College, with the exception of the Art School, was transferred in January 1958, to the Winneba Training College; in 1959 the Commerce Department was transferred to Achimota to form the nucleus of the present School of Administration of the University of Ghana, Legon.
In December 1960, the Government of Ghana appointed a University Commission to advise it on the development of university education, in connection with the proposal to transform the University College of Ghana and the Kumasi College of Technology into an independent University of Ghana. Following the report of the commission which came out early 1961, the government decided to establish two independent universities in Kumasi and Legon, Accra. The Kumasi College of Technology was thus transformed, under the supervision of R. P. Baffour, into a full-fledged University Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology by an Act of Parliament on 22 August 1961. The name honors Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister and later president of Ghana.
The name was changed to University of Science and Technology after the Revolution of 24 February 1966. The University of Science and Technology was officially inaugurated on Wednesday, 20 November 1961. However, another act of Parliament (Act 559 of 1998) changed the name back to its original version, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
Principal officers
The principal officers of the university are the chancellor, chairman of the University Council and vice-chancellor. As of 2011, the position of chancellor was held by the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Governing body
Governance is carried out by the University Council, primarily through the Academic Board, which is responsible for:
Student participation in university administration
Students participate in the administration of the university through their representatives serving on the University Council, Academic Board, the Welfare Services Board, Faculty and Departmental Boards, Residence Committee, Library Committee and on the Hall Councils.
Collegiate system
KNUST has, since January 2005, transformed from its previous centralized system of administration into a decentralized collegiate university. Under this system, the faculties have been condensed into six colleges.
The university had been administered on the faculty-based system. This led to administrative difficulties as new faculties and institutes were created to meet the ever-growing academic pursuits of students. To solve this problem, a collegiate system was officially adopted on 29 November 2004. On 5 April 2005, the pioneering provosts were inducted and invested into office at the Great Hall of the KNUST.
The colleges are semi-autonomous, which means that they are given the power to largely run on their own without much dependence on the central administration for financial support. A college registrar, finance officer and librarian assist the provosts. Under them are the faculties, centres and institutes, headed by deans and directors. As heads of the colleges, the provosts provide academic and administrative leadership for the colleges and oversee their overall running.
Student accommodation
There are six halls of residence at the Kumasi campus, each administered by a hall council consisting of senior and junior members. The executive head is the hall master, who is assisted by a senior tutor. There is a hall bursar and other supporting staff.
Hostels for continuing students
About 60% of the student population is non-resident. There are private hostels around the campus and in Kumasi for students who, as a result of the limited facilities/rooms, could not be admitted as resident students.
There are facilities on campus where non-resident students can rest between lectures and study before they leave for their homes and hostels.
In January 2014, the top floor of the Crystal Rose Hostel caught fire while most students were on vacation. The cause of the fire is still not known.
International students
There is an international student association that sees to the interests of foreign students such as accommodation and taking first years around campus.
Academics
From the 2010/11 academic year some of the colleges operate a two-tier system, while others maintain their three-tier system.
Colleges under the three-tier system (Provost/Dean/Head of Department):
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
College of Health Sciences
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Colleges under the two-tier system (Provost/Head of Department):
College of Arts and Built Environment
The College of Art and Built Environment formerly known as College of Architecture and Planning came into existence in January 2005 as part of the restructuring of the University into a Collegiate System. In the restructuring, the Faculty of Environmental and Development studies (FEDS) and the Institute of Land Management and Development (ILMAD) were merged to form the College. FEDS comprised three teaching departments: Department of Architecture, department of Building Technology and Department of Housing and Planning Research. ILMAD comprised two departments, Department of Land Economy and the Land Resources Centre. The college currently comprises two faculties, ten teaching Departments and one research institute:College of Engineering
College of Science
Institute of Distance Learning
In the year 2005, the KNUST adopted distance learning as a viable complement to the conventional face-to-face system of education. This decision was made to offer opportunity for people to pursue academic programmes with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, while still on full-time employment.
In October 2007, the Academic Board changed the status of the Faculty of Distance Learning to the Institute of Distance Learning.
Library and digital resources
The KNUST Library provides information in electronic and print formats to staff and students mainly to support teaching, learning and research in science and technology for national development. It is a depository library for all materials published in Ghana and for international institutions and organisations like the World Bank and other United Nations Agencies.
Digital services are available through the Open Educational Resource (OER) as well as the DSpace repository.