The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, last Wednesday paid a working visit to the Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU) to inspect ongoing projects.
One of the projects is under the Ghana-China Project on the rehabilitation and upgrading of equipment in polytechnics and technical institutes (including technical universities /polytechnics) in the country.
The project at the CCTU, which is about 95 per cent complete, includes a fully equipped automobile workshop, a civil engineering workshop, a mechanical engineering workshop and a welding workshop.
After the installation of all the tools and equipment in those workshops, which are industry-standard equipment, students who graduate from these institutions will have industry-ready skills.
Expedite action
During the tour, Dr Adutwum urged the contractor working on the project to expedite action to ensure that it was completed on schedule for use.
He was upbeat that the project, when completed, would help improve the employability of Ghanaian youth by providing them with the relevant skills and competencies required for self and formal employment for the 21st century market needs.
Dr Adutwum said, “President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government sees education in the form of Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as the key to transforming Ghana.
“The President has, therefore, prioritised education, especially Science, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and TVET, to make it the bedrock of Ghana’s industrialisation agenda.”
The minister pledged the government’s readiness to provide the needed resources to ensure that the youth of the country benefitted from the equipment to improve their fortunes, as well as support the development of the nation’s economy through education.
Alignment
Dr Adutwum urged the universities in the country to identify and align with specific industry partners for the various workshops so that they could both plan and make good use of the equipment for the good of the nation and the rest of the world.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Joshua Danso Owusu-Sekyere, expressed gratitude to the government and the Ministry of Education for initiating the project and pledged that the university would put the workshops to good use.
For his part, the Ag Director-General of the Commission for Technical, Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, indicated that the commission would do everything possible to ensure that the institutions which were benefitting from the project followed the required occupational and industry standard in the delivery of TVET using the facilities.
He pledged to collaborate with all sectors to do everything within their mandate to improve the sector which held the key to turning the nation’s economy around within the shortest possible time if well patronised.
Background
Parliament in March 2018 approved by resolution the concessional loan agreement between the Government of Ghana and the EXIM Bank of China for an amount of US$119 million to finance this rehabilitation project.
Subsequently, Parliament in July 2018 approved by resolution the supplementary contract agreement, as well as the commercial contract between the Government of Ghana and Avic International Holding Corporation of China for the implementation of the project.
This project will see the provision of modern tools and equipment to 13 technical institutes and all the technical universities across the country, as well as the construction of a Technical Examinations Unit Block (TEUB) at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED).
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