Dr George Oduro, Chairman of Takoradi Polytechnic Council on Friday asked the Students Representative Council and other bodies on campus to use dialogue as a tool to address all internal
conflicts.
He said the local unionised workers should exhaust all laid down structures in resolving their grievances before embarking on industrial
action.
Dr Oduro made the request during the induction of Reverend Professor Daniel Nyarko as the Rector of the Polytechnic in Takoradi.
Rev. Prof. Nyarko, who was a former Dean of Guidance and Counselling and Vice Rector, replaces Dr Samuel Obeng Apori.
Dr Oduro said Rev. Prof. Nyarko's appointment was unique, since he was
the first academic staff of a polytechnic in the country to rise to the high office.
He observed that since the polytechnic is a public institution people would be interested in the type of leadership he would provide towards the development of the academic facility.
"They would also be interested in how you manage the human and material resources of the polytechnic towards achieving high laurels in practical oriented scholarship and in the extent to which you can create congenial atmosphere on campus to inspire confidence and high sense of belongingness among the various interest groups," he said.
Dr Oduro urged the Rector to be a father to all members of the Polytechnic community, irrespective of their ethnic background, religious affiliation, political orientation and interests.
He must also ensure that fairness and firmness characterise his dealings with everybody.
He said the council would offer its unflinching support to Rev. Prof. Nyarko so long as he remained faithful to his oath of office and abides by the contents of his letter of appointment.
Dr Oduro said the council would not interfere in the day to day administration of the Polytechnic but would not hesitate to intervene when there was evidence of the breach of the Polytechnic Act and statutes.
He said when this happened, it should not be misconstrued to mean interference as the ultimate responsibility of governance of the polytechnic
rests on the council.
Dr Oduro noted that the council would not compromise on issues related to academic and administrative staff development, promotion of scholarship, creation of non-threatening atmosphere required for development.
Rev. Prof. Nyarko said his vision was to transform the polytechnic into a world class polytechnic of choice for tertiary technical and vocational education and training comparable to any technical university in the world.
He said the current level of human resources, equipment and other infrastructural facilities could serve as the springboard for transforming the polytechnic into a Technical University.