The Principal of Grace Hill School of Technology (GHIST), Professor Josphus Anamuah-Mensah, says skill training through vocational and technical education is the key to Ghana’s future.
He said the current education system was turning graduates who were increasingly becoming unemployable and a liability to their parents and the country as whole.
“Many especially girls, are working in the street with no skills or decent jobs and that has been a great concern to us all,” he added.
The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba was speaking at the 11th Graduation and 22nd Open Day of The Grace Hill School of Technology (GHIST) held at Ankafu, in the Central Region on Saturday.
In all, 25 students graduated with the award of certificates in cake decoration, sugar craft, cookery art, floral, balloon and fabric décor, and pastry arts.
The occasion was on the theme: “TVET: An imperative for all students.”
Prof. Anamuah-Mensah said the grand solution was to provide all students at all levels of education with vocational, technical and entrepreneurial skills.
He said students should come out of educational system with skills beside the general knowledge, since that would make the youth employable.
The Principal said the World Bank (2018) estimated that about 48 percent of the youth in the country, who are between 15-24 years, did not have jobs whilst young women were much more disadvantaged.
He said GHIST over the last 11 years had embarked on a crusade to transform the youth in the society to provide them with vocational and entrepreneurial skills to enable them to set up their own job or find jobs in hotels, restaurants, or other entries.
Prof. Anamuah-Mensah said starting from next session, GHIST’s students would visit hotels and other hospitality places, as part of the training and the use of video lessons emphasised in teaching and learning.
In her address, Dr (Mrs) Adelina Effie Arkhurst, former Head of Department of Home Economics, University of Education Winneba (UEW), said TVET continued to receive little attention and financial support in the country.
According to her, several renowned educationists had indicated that Ghana would continue to move in cycles unless there was a complete paradigm shift in the education system at pre-secondary and post secondary levels.
She said employers had indicated their preference for people with technical skills, adding that the country needed people with technical skills of various dimensions.
Dr Arkhurst said Rwanda was one of the African countries, which was vigorously pursuing TVET to solve many socio-economic challenges after plunging deep into the doldrums of excruciating civil war.
She said Ghana was struggling below 10 percent TVET enrolment at both pre-secondary and post-secondary levels and attributed that to a myriad of factors such as lack of government priority, financial reasons, lack of proper policy and leadership direction.
From Daniel Amoo
