<<Print>>

Miss Elizabeth Ohene, a former Minister of State has called for the commitment of resources toward the teaching and learning of mathematics as a pre-requisite for the success of technical education.

“Too many young people are now failing mathematics and that closes many career avenues for them,” she stated.

Miss Ohene made the remarks at the launch of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Ho Technical University (HTU) on Wednesday.

The theme for the celebration is: Consolidating the gains of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Ghana: HTU@50.

The seasoned writer and broadcaster who was the guest speaker, insisted that teachers in technical institutions must be appointed on the basis of their conviction in technical education to build the deserved honour for hands-on skills.

“Our everyday life is in the hands of technical people so we need to equip the workshops and laboratories in the technical institutions to produce the needed skilled men and women to support the industrialisation drive.”

She said technical education had become even more important with Ghana’s status as an oil producing country which requires more technicians than people from the so-called elite professions.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, who performed the launching ceremony said that despite the challenges facing HTU, it had made remarkable contributions to the country’s manpower needs over the years.

He re-affirmed government’s stance to prioritise the growth of TVET by improving facilities in the technical institutions.

Professor Emmanuel K. Sakyi, Interim Vice-Chairman of HTU, said that over the years the university had rediscovered itself by introducing novel apprenticeship programmes in fashion, brick-laying, welding; and panting and decoration “as part of our commitment to skills training”.

He said that it was time the problems of low prestige, ill-equipped laboratories and outdated equipment were addressed to facilitate the smooth implementation of the programme.

Professor Sakyi announced plans by HTU to launch a state-of-the-art laboratory for applied sciences to serve as an embodiment of its 50-year journey.