The Council For Technical And Vocational Educational Training (COTVET) in a press release dated 3rd September 2020 titled “COTVET Engages Ghanaian Celebrities and Entrepreneurs To Promote TVET” announced that it has contracted ambassadors to use their influence in society to help promote TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) and make it more attractive to the youth.
To me, this is a rather lazy approach and would not solve the problem. Engagement of celebrities and entrepreneurs can’t be the panacea. To make TVET attractive, government needs a well-thought through plan, embracing relevant content, strategic resourcing, capacity building, provision of infrastructure among others, rather than just form and appearances.
Let me put on record that President John Mahama and the previous NDC administration, diagnosed that there is indeed some negative perception about technical and vocational education, and that is why we set to work toward turning this state of affairs around. This is because the NDC had long held that Ghana’s future industrialization and Economic transformation is largely hinged on ensuring that our TVET graduates are equipped to meet international standards and positioned to take up critical roles in realising our national agenda.
The evidence is there to confirm that in furtherance to addressing this challenge, President John Mahama sent a team to study the German technical universities model which we found to be superior to other models, and which we adopted for Ghana. Our plan therefore included expanding TVET educational facilities, providing laboratories, enhancing the TVET curricula to match modern trends, upgrading of the qualifications of facilitators, and the conversion of Polytechnics into Technical Universities. All these were to prepare the products in the fields of technology, technical skills and vocational training to occupy key roles to ensure the economic transformation and industrialization drive of the nation. Unfortunately, we could not complete all the processes before we left office.However, John Mahama and the NDC are set to continue with our superior approach when given the opportunity to govern Ghana.
Speaking at the 27th Annual Residential Delegates Congress of the Ghana National Union of Technical Students at the Kumasi Technical University in August 2019, President Mahama promised to make TVET more attractive: “It is my intention, in the future government that I will lead, to rebrand TVET into an alternative of first choice rather than the wretched path that students are compelled to take when all other doors are closed to them.”He added that “we intend to continue to clear the pathway, so that the path toward technical and vocational education training from the basic level, through the secondary level, to the tertiary level, will be an alternative of first choice and not an alternative of rejected students. Indeed, I daresay that we need our brightest and best to take the path of technical education, if we are to transform this country”.
Clearly, from President Mahama’s superior appreciation of how best we can make use of the TVET graduate, if you want young people to go into vocational and technical education, you make it attractive in terms of investments in TVET, and not in ambassadors. This means there should be a deliberately created rich curriculum from the basic to the Technical University level. This way, TVET would become more prestigious and many of our best students would opt for technical and vocational training rather than the more grammar focused education that have been traditionally offered.
The NDC has shown in the past when we were in government, and has indicated going forward that TVET is a key area for us. To this end the NDC would ensure that there is adequate funding, capacity building, tooling, provision of infrastructure etc. to make TVET a success.
Our Economic Transformation Agenda with TVET as the pivot is what informs President John Mahama and the NDCs pledge to offer Free TVET education to Ghanaians when the NDC wins the 2020 elections. To further promote technical and vocational training, the NDC will absorb apprenticeship fees paid by carpenters, welders, plumbers, electricians, and hairdressers, among others.
We intend that the nation must make use of the knowledge, skills and training of our own TVET graduates across all levels when it comes to agriculture, road construction, energy, telecommunication, furniture making among others, instead of employing foreign human resource because of lack of qualification and insufficient training or knowledge.
Indeed, the NDC, led by President John Mahama will align Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) with industry and market needs for economic transformation, value addition to primary commodities, agro-processing and for higher productivity.
I am certain that the lazy approach of appointing and engaging ambassadors would not address the nagging issues that Ghanaians want addressed in order to make TVET attractive. A few questions therefore arise: what is the source of funding to engage these ambassadors? Or, are their services to the nation for free bearing the fact that other similar ambassadors have had monies and vehicles donated to them at the cost of the taxpayer? For how long will they undertake the so-called engagement aimed at promoting TVET?
The NDCs roadmap that we left behind, and which sought to develop TVET by giving it the necessary attention and investment for productivity and economic transformation has been unfortunately rejected by the NPP government of President Akufo-Addo. We the NDC have no qualms taking it up and taking TVET and the nation to a pedestal where it deserves when we are elected into office in December 2020.
Dr. Clement Apaak
M.P Builsa South and Deputy Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament
