Technical Education On Top Of Government Plans

Government is committed to ensure paradigm shift in skills training and manpower development in the country and is therefore boosting the support for technical education as a vital component of the country's education and skills training agenda.

Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh Minister of Education, who stated this said Ghana needed well-trained men and women with required skills and competencies needed to fill the manpower positions in industry, which meant that the country could not continue to underestimate the place of technical universities and polytechnic training in the country's march towards prosperity.

He was speaking at the 13th congregation of the Kumasi Technical University on Saturday.

Three thousand and fifty six (3,056) students who have completed various courses in Bachelor of Technology, Higher National Diploma and other Diploma courses received degree and diploma certificates.

Dr Opoku Prempeh said government, recognising the critical role of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in building a skilled workforce for rapid development in all sectors had initiated a number of reforms to strengthen, improve and revitalise skills development that fitted for the purpose in driving the country's development agenda.

He said a whole division of education service to technical and vocational education with its own Director General was being established and government had also restructured the Ministry of Education, dedicating one Deputy Minister entirely to Technical and Vocational education.

In addition, government was reviewing curriculum of TVET institutions, constructing 20 modern TVET institutions across the country and upgrading colleges of education to specialise in technology.

Dr Opoku Prempeh said the initiatives were geared towards providing the needed technical and vocational skills to support the government one district one factory agenda, which was a game changer in the country's industrialisation efforts.

He commended the management of the Kumasi Technical University for using part of their internally generated funds to construct lecture halls for the university and charged the graduates to strive to pursue honesty, sincerity, selflessness, hard work, commitment, determination and dedication to make them succeed in life.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in an address read on his behalf charged technical universities not to deviate from their core mandate, but continue to pursue programmes that offered practical training to the youth to equip them with skills to push the country's industrialisation agenda.

Professor Asiama Yeboah Interim Vice Chancellor, reiterated his call on the government to review the working conditions of staff of Technical universities to help reduce the attrition rate which was threatening to defeat the purpose of converting the polytechnics to technical universities.