Technical, Vocational training to take centre statge -To address challenges facing education

The Mills administration has instituted measures to ensure that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) takes centre stage in ameliorating the current difficulties facing the education sector.

As part of the measures to address the challenges, the government is reviewing the TVET policy to ensure that interest in technical and vocational training is whipped up in pupils at the primary school level to the highest level, provide opportunities for students pursuing TVET to rise to the highest educational level and also change the prejudice people have about technical and vocational training.

A Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Mahama Ayariga disclosed these when he addressed stakeholders of TVET at the presentation of a research report on vocational and technical training in Ghana.

Mr Ayariga noted that out of the about 3.8 million pupils who start primary school in the country every year, only 200,000 gain admission to the various public and private tertiary institutions.

The research was commissioned by the City and Guilds Centre for Skills Development, United Kingdom (UK), in collaboration with the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET-Ghana). It was conducted bythe Centre for Policy Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon.

He said the shortfall in the provision of training for the remaining youth was a major socio-economic crisis in the making which could explode in the future.

Mr Ayariga noted that Ghana had 18,599 primary schools, while 10,768 junior high schools provided enrolment for 1.3 million students, and there were 129 public technical and vocational training schools while the private technical and vocational institutions were 151, with both public and private ones providing enrolment for only 64,155 students.

The deputy minister said the private and public institutions, which put together, provided technical and vocational training, had only 1,695 classrooms, which were woefully inadequate, not to talk of the not-up-to-date laboratories and workshops.

Mr Ayariga observed that the government had started to overhaul the TVET, particularly looking at the policy option that would expand the base of the TVET to erase the wrong impression that the TVET was for the ‘not too brilliant’ students and drop outs.

With the new system, particularly with academic progression, a mechanic from the Agblogloshie market could walk into any of the assessment centers to be established and be guided to progress in his field of endeavour to the level of masters degree and above because as the country took steps to attain a high middle income status, the TVET held the key in realising such vision.

He expressed worry that currently, Chinese and Togolese artisans were in the country doing jobs that Ghanaians could have undertaken, and added that the government was determined to reverse this trend and ensure that more Ghanaians were given training in this field and also possibly export Ghanaian technicians and artisans to other countries.

Mr Ayariga noted that if Ghanaian experts were in high demand in other countries to the extent that those at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) were leaving in droves, the same could be done for artisans as part of the measures to reduce the unemployment rate and earn more foreign exchange.

In his presentation on the status of the TVET in Ghana, the Director of COTVET, Mr D. Baffuor-Awuah, called for career guidance and counselling to ensure that students selected TVET and realised that there was potential in rising to the highest level.