Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.5, No.6, 2014 44 Improving Admissions into Technical and Vocational Institutions Through a Statistical Classification Technique Joseph Dadzie 1* , Martin Owusu Amoamah 1 , Ben Apau- Dadson 1 , Prince Koranteng Kumi 2 1. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Accra Polytechnic. P. O. Box GP561, Accra. 2. Department of Accountancy, Accra Polytechnic, Ghana. * Corresponding Author’s Email: kobenagyesi@yahoo.com Abstract Polytechnic education at the Tertiary level is part of the the crowning achievement or the capstone of the traditional educational structure. It is the hub of human development worldwide. Therefore the system of admissions into these institutions anywhere is an area of research interest. Many factors are considered before students are admitted into programmes at the tertiary level of education and this differs from country to country. However, a growing conflict is the entry requirements into the traditional universities on one hand and the polytechnic and the vocational institutions on the other hand. According to Stubbs (Stubbs, 1998), at least half of the differences in students’ academic performance could be attributed to the students’ social background and prior attainment rather than the school they attended. Using Ghana’s example as a case study, the multivariate classification tool of linear Discriminant Analysis was conducted on students’ academic performance with entry grades as the predictors and the classes they obtain at the end of their study at the Polytechnic level as the response variable. Exploratory data analytical tools of normality, multicolinearity, homocedasticity amongst others were employed on the data. Further analysis on the transformed data using linear discriminant analysis revealed that the elective subjects as predictors have far stronger discriminating powers than the core subjects. This suggests that the current entry requirement policy into the polytechnics that focuses on the core subjects must be looked at again. The current entry regime which is more like that of the universities tends to turn away many otherwise very good technical and vocational education materials because of fails in one or two core courses. Keywords: Discriminant Analysis, Multicollinearity, Homocedasticity, Centroids, Eigen value, Normality 1. Introduction The polytechnics as a hub of technical and vocational education in Ghana were upgraded to tertiary status in 1993 with the promulgation of the Polytechnic Law, PNDC Law 321, 1992. The polytechnics were charged with responsibility for producing middle level manpower in manufacturing, applied science and technology, and business and commerce for national development. They are also to encourage the study of technical subjects at the tertiary level and provide opportunity for research and publication of research findings (Polytechnic Law:1992).Ghana has 10 regionally based polytechnics located in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Ho, Tamale, Sunyani, Cape Coast, Koforidua, Wa and Bolgantanga that offer various programmes leading to Higher National Diploma (HND). In addition, they also offer non-tertiary education. About 1 per cent of the total population of post-secondary age goes to the Polytechnics. At present, polytechnics in Ghana have the requisite legal mandate to award degrees subject to such conditions that the Polytechnic Council of that polytechnic may determine. In preparing of these polytechnic documents, contributions were received from various stakeholders all with the view of meeting educational as well as technological demands of the current global chances. The objective of the polytechnics is to produce hands-on skilled manpower and professionals for employment in industry and other sectors of the economy. The Higher National Diploma (HND) programs at the various polytechnic levels have been with us for some time now since they were first introduced in 1993. Majority of students have graduated from these programs and are contributing in many areas of the countries developmental progress. Some of these graduates could be found in different sectors of the economy, playing various roles in industry, business and commerce. Currently, some of the polytechnics are offering Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) degree programs in some engineering and other fields, while other polytechnics are awaiting approval to commence their degree programs. A growing concern is the entry requirements into the polytechnics. All students who gain admission into the country’s tertiary institutions are required to have requisite passes in core subjects of English language, core mathematics, social studies and integrated science as well as their elective subjects. In recent years many students fail to gain admission into polytechnics in Ghana because they fail to obtain the requisite passes in their core subjects most especially. There is the need to investigate whether these core and elective subjects have any significant effect on the performance of the students at the polytechnic level. It is worth finding out whether irrespective of the course being pursued the students should be made to have passes in all these core subjects.