Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is a university in Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana. Originally, it used to be in Kumasi alone, but there have been built a branch in Obuasi, Ghana.
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is the public university established in the country, as well as the largest university in the Kumasi Metropolis and in the Ashanti Region.
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.
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. Secondly, there were the 1948 Accra 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 College in the Greater Accra Region. The college was affiliated to the University of London. In 1961, the college was granted full university status.
The university covers a total land area of 2512.96 acres.
In November 2019, KNUST was ranked as the best university in Ghana and West Africa by U.S. News & World Report.
It was also ranked 14th in Africa and 706th in the world, with a global score of 42.4.
In November 2020 it was ranked the best for the second time by U.S. News & World Report. This time it climbed 2 positions to be 12th best in Africa.
KNUST has, since January 2005, transformed from its previous centralized system of administration into significantly decentralized one called the Collegiate system. Under this system, the various faculties have been condensed into six colleges. Since its inception, the University has been administered on the Faculty-based system.
The resultant collection of Faculties largely hampered efficient administrative and academic operations, as duplication of efforts and long administrative processes were rampant. The need to deal with these complexities and harmonize the operation of the existing structures became apparent and unavoidable.
This was more so, with the ever-increasing numbers in student population. True to the vision to make KNUST the model for technological education in Africa and the Vice-Chancellor’s commitment to academic excellence, the Collegiate System came into being with the promulgation of the statutes on November 29, 2004.
There are six Halls of residence and a number of hostels in the University. They are Queen Elizabeth II, Unity, Independence, Republic, University, and Africa.
Previously, only three of the Halls of residence were mixed, with two for males only and one for females only. Now, all halls have been structured into mixed halls.
Of the five hostels in the University, two are for postgraduate students, one for both undergraduate and graduate students and managed by the Ghana Universities Staff Superannuation Scheme (GUSSS).
