The Deputy Chair of Parliament’s Committee on Education, Dr Prince Hamid Armah, says the government has, through infrastructure development, made a significant step towards making Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) a viable option and a channel for development of the country.
Speaking to journalists after a tour of TVET facilities around the country’s technical universities and institutes, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwesimintsim in the Western Region said the world today is looking for people with skills and competencies to lead industrial revolution and not people who would regurgitate information.
He expressed optimism that TVET education will soon take its rightful place in the country’s educational and development agenda.
“Going around we have seen significant infrastructure investment in the Technical and Vocational education subsector. Given this pathway we are likely to see a significant transformation in our economy.
“When we went to Takoradi Technical University we saw an oil simulation equipment that demonstrates processes engineers go through to get the final product in drilling oil offshore. The people, who are being trained, are having direct access to what will happen if they find themselves in the oil and gas job market,” he stated, adding, “this clearly shows we are linking the skills we are developing to the world of market. And that is remarkable.”
Unlike previously where the brightest and most intelligent of students were the ones who veered into technical and vocational education, Dr Armah said it is depressing that in recent years an impression is created that TVET education is for the dropouts or academically weak students.
He was quick to add that the advancement in technology, technical equipment and innovation demands that people with high qualifying grades are the ones who must venture into TVET and handle these equipment to ensure developmental aspirations are achieved.
“That is how we can shift the paradigm towards TVET education,” he said.
While calling for a reorientation of parents and students alike about the need for TVET education, he stated that government is also trying to ensure a “parity of esteem” between grammar type schools and TVET schools, through policy reforms and the provision of equal proportion of funding.
“When TVET is located in schools that are not supposedly privileged schools, people do not want to study there. They want to study at Mfantsipim because it has a name. This is a result of the structure of our education.
“Across the world, the best practice is that TVET is positioned in such a way that they enjoy a parity of esteem with the grammar type and that is exactly what we are doing here in Ghana,” he stated.
Dr Armah also mentioned the introduction of TVET service, an analogous institution to the Ghana Education Service which is supposed to properly coordinate all activities of TVET and pre-tertiary level.
He added that the Ghana job and skills and voucher projects, multimillion dollar investment projects have also been made available to help finance people with technical and vocational skills and expertise including master craftsmen.
He challenged the youth to take advantage of these opportunities to help stimulate the economy and country’s development.
The former Director General of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment said the government is not leaving People With Disabilities (PWDs) behind insisting that government will ensure that PWDs have equal access to educational facilities according to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.