634 students graduate from UMaT

Six Hundred and thirty-four (634) students graduated from the University of Mines and Technology at the 14th congregation of the university held over the weekend.

Out of these, eighty-nine of them graduated with postgraduate degrees made up of (12) Doctor of Philosophy degrees, seventy-five (75) Masters degrees and two (2) Postgraduate Diplomas.

Five hundred and forty-five (545) students were also awarded Bachelor of Science degrees in their respective engineering programmes. A total of one hundred and thirty-three (133) students representing 24% of the graduating class obtained First Class Honours. One hundred and nine (109) received Diplomas and Certificates.

The Vice-Chancellor Prof Richard Kwasi Amankwa congratulated the graduating students for their transitions to the next stages of their lives.
He urged them to uphold the values of the university; Knowledge, Truth and Excellence as they go out to the world of work.

According to the Vice Chancellor, “the total student population in UMaT stands at 7,820. In the 2022/2023 academic year, 3,260 fresh students were admitted to pursue various programmes”.


He was hopeful that the University may reach 10,000 students population by 2024, as stated in the UMaT Strategic Plan.



Giving an account on the Ministry of Education’s non-science to engineering programme Prof Richard Kwasi Amakwa said “the first batch of students admitted have completed this pre-engineering programme. Out of the 99 students who were admitted, 9 abandoned the programme after a few weeks. Of the 90 that stayed, I am happy to report that all of them completed successfully and have been placed in various programmes within the University”.



The Director of Tertiary education at the Ministry of Education Dr Yayra Dzakadzie on behalf of the Minister of Education congratulated the graduating students.
He also commended the management of the university for the tremendous improvement. He urged them to continue to work hard and improve on efforts to partner government to transform the country through education.

Speaking on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Education, Dr Dzakadzie noted that government places importance on one of the key areas of modern education which is STEM, the niche of UMaT.

According to him “the Ministry recognizes that presently, STEM education cannot be overemphasized as technology is fast taking over daily activities in our homes, schools, institutions, and communities to solve real-world problems and that education in STEM areas is the priority for a fast-moving technology-driven world”.

He added that “STEM education holds numerous prospects and benefits such as improving science literacy and developing critical thinkers and innovators, which in turn helps to sustain the development of economies. With this realization, in 2019 the Ministry of Education launched the Education Strategic plan 2018-2030, which among other things, targets 60% of student enrolment at the tertiary level to be in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines as the Ministry has identified that only 12% of existing enrolment at the pre-tertiary level are in Science Programmes”.

“It is also for this reason that the Ministry has announced the full operationalisation of seven (7) STEM schools across Ghana. These schools are currently included in the Computerised Selection School Placement (CSSPS) for the 2023 Academic Year. They include the Awaso STEM School in the Western Region, Abomosu STEM School in the Eastern Region, Bosomtwe Girls STEM School and Bosombwe STEM School both in the Ashanti Region, The Koase Secondary Technical School in the Ahafo Region, the Accra High School (engineering only) and the Kpesemkpe STEM School in the Northern Region” he stated.

The Vice Chancellor’s Overall Best Graduating Student Award went to Mr Shadrack Kwasi Nuamah with a CWA of 88.08%, from the Department of Mining Engineering. He received a cash prize of GH¢2,000.00 and a laptop which was sponsored by the UMaT Alumni Association.