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Gov't urged to invest in technical institutions

By Adom News I Abednego Asante Asiedu I [email protected] |Twitter:@Abednegoasante
General News Gov't urged to invest in technical institutions
JUL 28, 2015 LISTEN

Former Rector of the Koforidua Polytechnic, Prof. Reynolds Okai, has urged government to consider investment in technical institutions as a way of reducing economic challenges facing the country.

According to him, the country cannot reach its full development potential if its technical schools lack basic logistics to train students, adding that the work of technical and vocational professionals play a key role in economic development of any society.

He decried the current situation where between 30, 000 and 50, 000 graduates are churned out from the various tertiary schools but do not get employment, and hence called on the government to focus on technical schools to make it attractive for high school leavers.

“Well developed countries in the world depend on their technical base so vocational and technical schools and students skills in the country is very important in every society that wishes to develop as expected” Prof. Reynolds Okai said.

Prof. Reynolds Okai, who currently heads the College of Technology Education, Kumasi (COLTEK) was speaking Monday evening on Adom FM and Asempa FM’s flagship programme “Burning Issues” with Afia Pokua.

Prof. Reynolds Okai also called on the graduate and tertiary students to establish businesses in groups as a way of creating jobs for themselves and their colleagues.

He also urged graduates and students in tertiary schools to acquire vocational skills while still in school.

He stated that vocational and technical skills such as catering, tailoring, welding, carpentry, head dressing, auto mechanic, fish farming, masonry, plumbing among others can be learned by graduates as an added skill.

Executive Director of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Charles Aheto-Tsegah, who also spoke on the programme, urged parents to respect and appreciate technical and vocational students in the country.

Aheto-Tsegah stated that parents must also encourage their children to study at vocational and technical schools to enable the country develop economically through the technical and vocational professionals.

He also added that parents must desist and remove the perception that students who are academically poor are those admitted in the various technical institutes, adding that students must be allowed to go to vocational and technical institutes to learn more skills.

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