Dr. Hilla Limann Technical University (DHLTU), located in Wa (digital address: XW-0547-6594) started in September 1999 as the then Wa Polytechnic. However, it was not until 2002 that the interim Governing Council was appointed by Government to provide policy direction to the Institution. The first batch of tertiary students was admitted in 2003 to pursue Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes in Agricultural Engineering and Secretaryship and Management Studies. The University now runs fourteen (14) HND programmes (see details on website: www.dhltu.edu.gh) and other competitive short courses and programmes.

Following the passing of the Technical Universities Act, 2016 (Act 922), the Technical Universities (Amendment) Act 2018 (Act 974) and the Technical Universities (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 1016), the institution was converted to a Technical University. In line with our current status and mandate, the university will introduce nine (9) Bachelor of Technology Programmes in the 2022/2023 academic year. The new Bachelor programmes to be introduced are in the final stages of accreditation. Graduate programmes are also being developed to be introduced soon.

As the only Technical University that started with inadequate infrastructure and no seed money, DHLTU faced and still faces very challenging teething problems. For nearly a decade after its establishment, DHLTU operated from borrowed facilities. For example, while the Wa Municipal Education Directorate released its former offices to house the Central Administration of the then Wa Polytechnic, the Wa Secondary Technical School offered a four-classroom block to serve as classrooms, library, and computer laboratory as well as departmental offices. The Controller and Accountant General’s Department and the Institute of Adult Education, Wa also provided a hall each to serve as additional temporary classrooms.

The Institution later acquired land for its permanent site and developed a master plan to guide the orderly development of physical infrastructure. However, due to limited resources, the University, with the support of GETFUND, only managed to build an administration block, Library, a lecture theatre complex, a multipurpose workshop, and some bungalows for staff, many of which are uncompleted. The remaining infrastructure projects such as Students’ Hostel facilities, Faculty Building to serve as offices for Academic Staff, Modern Auditorium, Computer Laboratory, and Cafeteria among others are still on the drawing board. Management is working very hard, in collaboration with the Governing Council and other stakeholders to put in place the needed infrastructure for the University.