ISSN 2360-7998
Abstract
Accepted 9th March, 2020.
This study examined Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana (KNUST)’s community impact activities using the Surrounding Villages Admission Policy (SVAP) as a case in terms of how the policy is administered and the impact of the policy on beneficiary students. The study used questionnaire and interview guide to illicit data from three main sources: 20 KNUST staff, 16 community leaders and 60 beneficiary students. The study revealed that there was no existing official protocol guiding the implementation of the policy and this has resulted in some abuse of the policy such as non-indigenes benefiting from the policy at the expense of indigenes. This has also resulted in different community leaders using different criteria to select their candidates. The policy in spite of its bottlenecks has created a unique avenue for several indigenes to gain admission into the various programmes of the University on a concessionary basis which situation has improved the relationship between the University it its host communities. The study recommends that a formal protocol be drawn to guide the policy while means are found to increase the number of beneficiary students per community.
Keywords: social responsibility, town-gown, community leaders, higher education, host communities