The Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Hon. Gifty Twum-Ampofo has declared that government will not relent on its efforts to provide free Technical and Vocational Education and Training to its teeming youth as the surest way to guarantee jobs to reduce unemployment in the country.
She disclosed that, government is undertaking a skill gap analysis in key priority sectors of economy so that programmes and courses of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutions will be fashioned to be more responsive to the various sectors of the economy.
The Deputy Minister in charge of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in company of Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service officials toured some Technical and Vocational schools in the eastern region to inspect ongoing projects, equipment and materials supplies and also to ascertain the conditions, prevailing with students in TVET Schools as they write NABPTEX exams.
An estimated 375,737 have registered for this year’s NABPTEX exams being written at some 796 examination centers for TVET students across the country.
The tour took the Deputy Minister and her entourage to Akwatia Technical Institute, and the Asamankese St Mary Vocational Training Institute where the students are writing the exams amidst COVID-19 safety protocols
The Deputy Minister ended her working visit tour at the Kyebi Department and Community Development institution where Government in partnership with AVIC International China have provided the school with over 100 sewing machines and over 200 modern chairs with tables and ultra-modern equipment for retooling the school.
Speaking with NET2TV news team after the inspection the Deputy Minister of Education in Charge of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET ) , Hon. Gifty Twum-Ampofo said government is investing heavily in infrastructure for TVET institutions in various parts of the country as well as established a TVET Service centers to provide services.
She explained that all that initiatives were meant to equipped the youth with employable skills stressing that this was the way to empower the young generation to take up the mantle for the future.
She mentioned that, currently AVIC International China and VACE of Austria are building and upgrading Training Workshops for all the eight Technical Universities, Two Polytechnics and 17 Technical and Vocational institute under Ghana Education Service.
According to her, as part of the initiative, government is modernizing and upgrading 35 TVET institutions and construction of phase one is ongoing in all the 16 regions.
The government, the deputy minister re-emphasized the importance of TVET skills and its key strategies around to create employment for the youth in the country.
The Principal of Akwatia Technical Institute, Maxwell Owusu Afriyie for his part commended government for efforts at face lifting Technical and Vocational Institutions in the country which will go a long way to re-equip the youth to have a brighter future.
He expressed gratitude to government in support of TVET schools in the fight against COVID-19 safety protocols laid down during the ongoing examination.
By:Isaac Clottey
