Govt. releases 4.5 billion cedis for youth training

Fawohoyeden (B/A), Dec. 11 GNA - The Government has released 4.5 billion cedis to resource six Youth Leadership Skill Training Institutions throughout the country to enable them to effectively play their expected role in the nation's socio-economic development. Mr. Joseph Mantey, National Youth Coordinator of the National Youth Council (NYC), announced this at the sixth graduation ceremony of seventy students of the Fawohoyeden Youth Leadership Training Institute and the commissioning of the Institute's KVIP at Fawohoyeden near Goaso, in the Asunafo South District on Friday.

Mr. Mantey said out of the amount one billion cedis each had been earmarked for the three newly established Youth Leadership Skill Training Institutions.

They are Nalerigu Institute in the Northern Region, Wassaw-Akropong Institute in the Western Region and Ajumako-Afranse Institute in the Central Region. The National Coordinator added that 500 million cedis each would go to the Abura Vocational Institute, Avenorpeme Institute in the Volta Region and Fawohoyeden Institute in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

Mr. Mantey said the Council would do its best to assist the government in ensuring that the unemployed youth in the country acquired needed skills so as either to be gainfully employed and appealed to the various district assemblies to let the Institutes benefit from their (Assemblies') contract works.

He explained that apart from such contracts providing the students the opportunity for practical training it would also reduce the cost of the projects

As a measure to ensure that students from the junior and senior secondary schools who could not further their education received skills training, the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports in collaboration with the Council had started compiling names of such categories of students to benefit from leadership skills training at the institutes. He advised the trainees to form cooperative groups to benefit from the Government's Youth Fund to enable them to establish their own business.

Mr. Mantey commended Mr. Stephen Atuahen, the Principal of the Institute for his hard work and also thanked Nana Boakye Dankwa, the chief of Fawohoyeden as well as the Asunafo North District Assembly for showing great interest in the running of the Fawohoyeden Training Institute, which is the only one in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

In a report, the Principal of the Institute Mr. Atuahen said the Institute established in 1997 with a student population of 54 (36 boys and 18 girls) with six instructors and two cooks now had a population of 162, made up of 111 males and 51 females.

The Principal noted that the present number of students was over the required intake of 150 explaining that, "this is due to the fact that the Institute has now become very popular within the Region hence the rush for admission".

Mr. Atuahen said the Institute offered a two-year training course in Carpentry and Joinery (C&J), Building and Construction (B&C), Electrical Installation, Agriculture, Catering and Dressmaking leading to the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) Grade Two Certificate.

So far about 320 students had successfully passed out in their various fields since the Institute was established, he said. He said in the course of the year three members of the staff were sponsored to upgrade themselves in Grass-Cutter rearing, Health and Sanitation and Computer Literacy.

Mr Atuahene appealed for additional classroom blocks, new workshops as the present two were not only dilapidated but also not enough. Master Titus Dabien, School Prefect in a report appealed to the Council to organise sport and games competitions amongst the eight Youth Leadership Training Institutes in the country at least once in a year as being done in the Ghana Education Service in second-cycle schools.

In a welcoming address Mr. Richard Kofi Bedzra, Brong-Ahafo Regional Youth Coordinator urged the youth in the Region to make maximum use of the Fawohoyeden Institute to acquire skills to better their standard of living.

Nana Boakye Dankwa, chief of Fawohoyeden, who is also the Presiding Member of Asunafo North District Assembly, advised the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the Institute to shake themselves from slumber and let their impact be felt in the administration of the school.

Nana Dankwa assisted by Mr. Mantey later cut a tape to officially commission a 24-million-cedi female six-seater KVIP constructed for the Institute by the District Assembly. The new toilet replaces the dilapidated wooden structure manhole type constructed since the birth of the Institute seven years ago.

The school gave bursary scholarship award of 415,000 cedis each to six brilliant but needy first-year students towards the payment of school fees and other bills.

Prizes were also distributed to the out-going students.