By Kodjo
Adams, GNA
Accra, July 13, GNA – Professor Kwesi Yankah,
the Minister of State in-charge of Tertiary Education, has noted that emphasis
on Technical Universities and skills development will transform Africa’s
economy drastically to create job opportunities.
Professor Yankah said government was committed
to expand technical and vocational institutions, at both the secondary and
tertiary levels to strengthen the linkages between education and industry for
sustained national development.
Prof Yankah said this at the opening ceremony
of a conference for funding programme, “North Rhine Westphalia (NRW)
Partnerships for Supporting Technical Universities in Ghana.”
The funding programme is aimed at ensuring
that the Technical Universities in the country are practice-related, while at
the same time facilitating ongoing cooperation with the NRW Universities of
Applied Sciences.
The conference, brought together
representatives from Technical Universities in the country and Africa,
organised by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), a German support
organisation of international academic co-operation, in collaboration with the
National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE).
Prof Yankah stated that, lessons learnt in
African’s educational system, was the low capacity and skills development
resulting in the inability to generate knowledge and enable the development of
technical education among the youth and workforce.
He said in 2016, the government sought the
support of the German government for the German Universities of Applied
Sciences to partner and help build the capacities of Ghanaian technical
universities.
He said the Kumasi Technical University, Cape
Coast Technical University and three German universities of applied sciences
namely, TH Koln University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule-Bonn-Rhein Seig
University and the Internationale Hochschule Bad Honnef -Bonn signed a
Memorandum of Understanding for the Partnership for Applied Sciences project.
The two Ghanaian institutions would develop
proposals with technical assistance from the Hochschule-Bonn-Rhein Seig
University, to promote the country’s development drive.
Prof Yankah said the government would work to
put in place a free technical and vocational education system that would run
parallel to the high school to improve the human capital, promote innovation
and create new job opportunities.
He said the government was working assiduously
to raise the value of technical and vocational education and produce talented
young men and women to hasten the nation’s industrial and technological
development.
Prof Eric Nyarko-Sampson, Member of Council,
National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) speaking on the topic, “Current
Trends and Developments for Technical Universities in Ghana”, said the process
of conversion of Polytechnics to Technical Universities began in 2013.
He said the Technical Universities Act, 2016
(Act 922) was passed by Parliament and given Presidential assent on August 31,
2016.
According to Prof Nyarko-Sampson, the Act
would afford students the opportunity to acquire high level technical skills to
drive the country’s socio-economic
development agenda and contribute to raising quality and competiveness of
Ghanaian workforce among others.
He said government had inaugurated eight
polytechnics designated as Technical Universities in 2016, with the programmes
designed to prepare students professionally, with prior work experience.
“Government was taking steps to address the
shortcomings of Wa and Bolgatanga Polytechnics to enable them get converted to
Technical Universities”, he added.
He said the Ministry of Education through the
NCTE was working to ensure adequate funding allocations, which had been one of
the challenges faced by Technical Universities.
He said the Council was vigorously considering
new programmes submitted by the Technical Universities for approval.
She said the conference was to analyse the
potential for fostering stronger University-business linkages and graduate
employability in the country and develop further steps towards strengthening
the technical Universities.
Mr Christoph Retzlaff, the Ambassador of
Federal Republic of German to Ghana said the conference justified the bilateral
relationship between Ghana and German.
He said the German government would continue
the partnership between the two countries especially in technical education,
adding that, ‘Ghana beyond Aid’ could be achieved with strong technical and
vocational institutions.
GNA