National Stakeholders' Forum On SHS Graduates Held
The Deputy Minister for Information, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has disclosed that Government will engage the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) to produce documentaries and programmes on youth advocacy.
These documentaries, Mr Ablakwah said, will be used in public education campaigns to promote youth empowerment.
He said a Senior High School (SHS) Graduate Voice Co-ordinator will also be designated to be responsible for the self-assessment of youth programmes.
These are contained in an address read for him at a stakeholders' forum on building consensus on the way forward for SHS graduates in Accra yesterday.
The forum, which was held on the theme: 'SHS graduates-Allies for National Development,' was organised by School Investments, a company dedicated to the promotion of youth empowerment, in collaboration with the Youth Ambassadors Project.
The forum is aimed at building credible ways of engaging SHS graduates as allies in national development and brainstorming on a national service module for SHS graduates.
On his part, the Chief Executive of School Investments, Mr Gideon Kwamla Oyiadzo, called on stakeholders to engage the interests of SHS graduates through attachments, internships and in-service training, volunteerism and entrepreneurship workshops and seminars as a means of preparing them for adulthood and all the challenges coming along with it.
In addition, Mr Oyiadzo said, there is the need for the institution of an SHS Graduate Volunteer Scheme to serve as a platform for their personal improvement before embarking on their tertiary education programmes, as well as the establishment of an SHS Graduate Volunteer Fund to finance a pilot plan of programmes and activities associated with the Youth Ambassadors Project.
Delivering the keynote address, President of the Full Gospel Church International, Rt Rev Samuel Noye Mensah called on Government and other stakeholders in the education sector to explore the possibility of establishing a National Youth Scheme for SHS graduates which can be integrated as a module into the Youth Employment Programme.
Rt Rev Mensah also called on the district assemblies, industry, the security services and faith-based organisations to extend employment opportunities to SHS graduates while on transit to the tertiary level.