By
Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA
Effia (W/R), Sept. 17, GNA – Government has
been called to stop giving allowances to both nurses and teacher trainees and
invest such funds in Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET).
Professor Stephen Adei, Former Rector of the
Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), said “it is
time to put the required emphasis on TVET because of its critical role in
national development. By technical and vocational education and training we are
talking about aspects of learning directed towards the acquisition of
knowledge, competences and know-how to undertake trades and occupations that
require practical and applied skills as well as applied scientific knowledge as
opposed to general arts or even basic science education”.
Professor Adei was speaking at the First
Convocation Lecture organised by the Takoradi Technical University.
The event was held under the theme:
“Enhancing the Development of Ghana through Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET): the role of Technical Universities”.
Professor Adei said it is time government
invests and funds the cost of technical and vocational education which was more
expensive than classical education and training.
“You need a robust national TVET system and
apprenticeship to provide skilled personnel to catalyse industrial
development.”
“I do not even think that today teachers
and nurses should get free education and the National Democratic Congress’s
policy to that end must be revisited”, he said.
“It is not that these professions are not
important for national development. I say so because as an economist I know
that if government does not support them we will still have enough people doing
courses as they do by going to private universities”, he said.
Professor Adei said “for example, if the
government would stop literally putting in huge resources to support arts and
social science students in the public universities, there would be enough funds
within current budgetary constraints to provide the funding needed for TVET.
And TVET institutions require state of the art facilities and adequate
staffing.”
He said there is the need for government to
take the bold decision to say that the marketer, lawyer, accountant, historian,
in fact all the arts and humanities, must fund their own tertiary education.
In this vein, Professor Adei said, we would
release all the money for expansion of quality TVET and at the higher level,
produce the professionals – doctors, engineers, technologist etc,- needed for
our development.
He said technical and vocational education and
training aims to help learners to acquire practical and applied skills which is
career focused, hands-on and skilled based for self-employment and the
development of skilled labour force for the productive sectors of the economy.
Professor Adei said TVET is the key to
producing an enlightened society, equipping people to participate productively
in the economy, personal advancement, contributing to cultural development and
democracy and generally contributing to economic growth and national
development.
Professor Adei said education is central to
modern socio-political and economic development adding “the lack of progress is
attributed to the quality and mix of education.”
The TVET catalyses self-employment, job
opportunities and reduces unemployment, ensures sustainable livelihoods,
increases entrepreneurship, business start-ups and improves global
competitiveness of an economy.
Professor Adei said there must be development
oriented national leadership to spearhead the drive for quality TVET and see it
as an indispensable stand in the total development of the nation.
Additionally, good basic general education is
needed to ensure competencies in the language of instruction and mathematics;
ICT as foundation and quality of the technical and vocational education must be
high as against the lack of experienced and quality teachers, training
equipment and poor environment of TVET institutions.
“In a nutshell I will be arguing that the
state of TVET in the country is too weak for the good of our economic future as
a people; the constraints are unacceptably too many and must be addressed; and
that the technical universities must not become general universities but the
apex of TVET in research, innovation and creativity to support industry”, Professor
Adei said.
He said though with established institutions
such as the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training
(COTVET) in 2006, the National Vocational Training Institute (Act of 1970), the
Technical Universities Act and for certification, the National Board for
Professional and Technician Examination (NABPTEX), “Yet technical and
vocational education remains an orphan in the educational landscape.”
Another area of concern is the wrong and low
societal perception of technical and vocational training and education.
TVET is seen as something for the
intellectually weak; their products are seen as destined for low or at best
middle level jobs and incomes; and the elite do not want their wards to choose
that path.
“I think the overarching concern has been
political leaders having no strategic policy, commitment and will to develop
TVET in the country which in turn points to lack of appreciation of the role of
the TVET in enhancing national development”, he said.
Professor Adei said there is the need to
mobilize strong voice for advocacy for TVET in the country with the setting up
of 10 technical universities and over 300 technical schools, institutes and
other vocational establishments.
There is also the need to correct the poor
image about products of TVET with multi-pronged approaches and continuous
renewal of curricula to make TVET course relevant and respond to the needs of
industry.
Professor Adei urged technical universities to
undertake research especially on applied research to find solutions to industry
and national problems.
The technical universities are also the ones
better placed to forge linkages with industries and become a hub like Stanford
in connection with Silicon Valley and MIT with regard to heavy industries on
Rouge 28 in the USA.
Professor Adei said time is running against
the country in discovering the cornerstone role of technical and vocational
education and training (TVET) in Ghana’s development and called on the technical
universities to focus on being technical and engage in applied research,
creativity and innovation to galvanize a voice for TVET in the country.
GNA