Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Not to be confused with Kwame Nkrumah University.

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi
KNUST Seal
Arms of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
MottoAshanti Twi: Nyansapɔ wɔsane no badwenma[1]
Motto in English
The knot of wisdom is untied only by the wise[1]
TypePublic
Established1952; 72 years ago[2]
ChancellorKing Osei Tutu II[3] (Asantehene)
Vice-ChancellorProf Rita Akosua Dickson
Administrative staff
4,178
Students85,000+ (2023)[4]
Undergraduates-
Postgraduates2,306
Location
Kumasi
,
Ashanti Region
,
Ghana

06°40′43″N 01°34′16″W / 6.67861°N 1.57111°W / 6.67861; -1.57111
CampusSuburban area
ColoursLust, black, forest green and yellow
       
AffiliationsSee below
Websitewww.knust.edu.gh

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), commonly known as UST, Tech or Kwame Tech, is a public university located in Kumasi, Ashanti region, Ghana. The university focuses on science and technology.[5] It is the second public university established in the country, as well as the largest university in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.[6]

KNUST has its roots in the plans of Agyeman Prempeh I, a ruler of the Ashanti Kingdom, to establish a university in Kumasi as part of his drive towards modernization of his Ashanti kingdom.[7] This plan never came to fruition due to the clash between British empire expansion and the desire of King Prempeh I to preserve his Ashanti kingdom's independence.[7] However, his younger brother and successor, King Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh II, upon ascending to the Golden Stool in the year 1935, continued with this vision.[7] 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.[8] Secondly, there were the 1948 Accra riots and the consequent Watson Commission report, which recommended that a university of sciences be established in Kumasi.[9] 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.[10]

The Kumasi College of Technology offered admission to its first students to the engineering faculty in 1951 (however, those students started academic work in 1952), and an Act of Parliament gave the university its legal basis as the Kumasi College of Technology in 1952.[11] The nucleus of the college was formed from 200 teacher training students transferred from Achimota College in the Greater Accra Region. The college was affiliated to the University of London. In 1961, the college was granted full university status.[12]

The university covers a total land area of 2,512.96 acres (1,016.96 ha).[13] The main campus which is about seven square miles in area, is about eight miles (13 km) to the east of Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital.[14]

  1. ^ a b "The Emblem". Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  2. ^ History of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  3. ^ "The Chancellor". Official Website. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 29 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  4. ^ "KNUST reduces first-year admissions for 2023 academic year". 11 January 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  5. ^ "The Campus | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology". knust Ghana. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  6. ^ Agyekum, Kofi; Simons, Barbara; Botchway, Seth Yeboah (30 November 2018). "Factors influencing the performance of safety programmes in the Ghanaian construction industry". Acta Structilia. 25 (2): 39–68. doi:10.18820/24150487/as25i2.2. ISSN 1023-0564.
  7. ^ a b c "Prempeh, Ii, Otumfuo Sir Osei Agyeman, (1892–1970), nephew to late Nana Agyeman Prempeh I; Kumasihene and direct descendant of late King Osei Tutu, the Founder of Ashanti Empire; Hon. Zone Organiser (With rank of Hon. Lt-Col) in Home Guard, 1942". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u54595.
  8. ^ "August 11, 1948: The University College of the Gold Coast is established by Ordinance". Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Report on the Riots of 1948". The Ghana Reader. Duke University Press. 2016. pp. 259–264. doi:10.1215/9780822374961-052. ISBN 978-0-8223-7496-1.
  10. ^ "January 22, 1952: Kumasi College of Technology is established". Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  11. ^ Kumasitech : the journal of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. OCLC 10102282.
  12. ^ G. F. Daniel (17 April 1998). "THE UNIVERSITIES IN GHANA". Development of University Education in Ghana. University of Ghana. Retrieved 10 March 2007.
  13. ^ Dzisi, Emmanuel (2016). "Assessment of bicycle transportation on the KNUST Campus" (PDF). MSc. Thesis. KNUST Dspace. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, KUMASI". Universities. Universities of Ghana Overseas Office. Retrieved 11 March 2007.[permanent dead link‍]