President Akufo-Addo, Napo and other officials during the sod-cutting ceremony
THE TECHNICAL and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been identified as the missing link in Ghana’s educational sector.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who made the observation, said his government was determined to improve TVET learning in the country, henceforth.
“Low capacity in Technical and Vocational Education and Training remains a missing link in the country’s educational sector so far,” he pointed out.
At a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of a Technical Examination Unit at the College of Technology (COLTEK) at the University of Education Winneba, Kumasi campus, the President described TVET as an important tool in the country’s future transformation.
He announced that the government had rolled out a five-year strategic plan to improve TVET in the country. According to the President, as part of the new plan, technical and vocational schools would be constructed across the country to boost learning.
President Akufo-Addo also used the occasion to officially inaugurate the Development of Skills for Industry Project (DSIP) facility in the school last Sunday.
The DSIP facility, jointly funded by the Government of Ghana and the African Development Bank, has been implemented over a period of six years.
The government budgeted and provided a whopping GH¢36 million counterpart funding towards the successful completion of the project.
COLTEK benefitted from the project and now has completed workshops for electrical and plumbing, mechanical and automobile, and carpentry and joinery.
The completed project also boasts of a two-storey catering, fashion and design workshop as well as a two-storey library and ICT block.
Education Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh stressed the need for Ghana to invest in educating its people, especially in TVET.
According to him, countries such as Germany, Turkey, China and Brazil that took that decisive action some years ago are now reaping numerous benefits.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi