Expose Teachers To Industrial Experience - Educationist

An educationist has suggested that teachers who are patrons of a students mentorship programme should be introduced to the workings of industries in order to acquire knowledge and practical experience to share with the students. That would help students to be exposed to career opportunities to choose and pursue in adult life.

The suggestion was made by Mr Ebenezer Graham Acquah, the assistant headmaster of Achimota Senior High School, when he was speaking on behalf of the headmistress at an awards ceremony in Accra organised by African Business Centre for Developing Education (ABCDE), a Ghana-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to bridging the gap between industry and academia in Africa.

Mr Acquah asked ABCDE to organise follow-up mentorship programmes and inter-school competition for students, adding that the NGO should explore opportunities for more students to have internships. He lauded ABCDE for its mentorship programme.

The corporate award winners are the ECOBANK Ghana, British Council, Margins Ltd. and BUSAC. Personalities who were recognised with awards for their mentorship are Brigadier-General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, a two-time Chief of Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and former presidential adviser on security; Madam Petra Aba Asamoah, General Manager of Media General Ltd.; Dr Michael Agyekum Addo, an award-winning entrepreneur and author; and Catherine Beegle of the World Bank. The other awardees are Baaba Samson and Gilbert Martin who were rewarded as interns.

Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the immediate past Minister for Trade and Industry and former Education Minister, invited prominent alumni of senior high schools to volunteer to become mentors in order to guide and inspire students of their alma mater to choose careers which would enable them contribute to national development. Dr Spio-Garbrah added that ABCDE student mentorship programme currently has about 50 mentors. He said ABCDE had requests from senior secondary schools in the rural areas to introduce the mentorship programme there, and assured that the NGO would engage these schools soon.

He said the mentorship curricula include personal health, financial literacy, ICT, IT knowledge, sanitation, entrepreneurship and other skills sets. He said ABCDE would assist in incubation programmes which would be commercialized so that student entrepreneurs could get sponsorship. He urged that “innovation and creativity are taught in our schools” so that the country could boast of technology-driven products and services. He asked students to seek scholarships from the directorate published by ABCDE.

Dr Spio-Garbrah revealed that ABCDE would hold a forum next year for government, industry and academia to engage in consultative dialogue on matching education with the requirements of the workplace. He said ABCDE could expand to other African countries with the assistance of corporate sponsors, mentors, volunteers and interns. He expressed gratitude to all sponsors, partners, mentors and well-wishers.