CTVET distributing 1.2m textbooks to technical, vocational institutions nationwide – Dr Asamoah
The Commission for Technical and Vocational Education Training (CTVET) has commenced the distribution of 1.2 million textbooks across all technical and vocational training institutions across the country.
The new textbooks designed in line with the harmonised TVET curriculum covers all 24 programme of training and will help students in their areas of study.
Addressing journalists in Accra, yesterday, the Director-General of the CTVET, Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, said one of the key reform strategies under the transformation of TVET was the development of Competency Based Training (CBT) curricula.
He explained that the government had adopted the CBT as the mode of delivery to enhance the quality of teaching and learning, and as part of this initiative, all existing curricula had been standardised with more than 8,000 TVET instructors undergoing training in the CBT approach.
Dr Asamoah explained that the CBT was an outcome-oriented approach to education and training, aligning learners’ education with industry standards, stressing “to adhere to international best practices, CBT curricula, assessment tools, and learning materials are collaboratively developed with input from industry experts, academia, and relevant stakeholders.”
He noted that this approach prioritised individual learner-competence over group performance, with each learner deemed proficient upon meeting the established standards.
To ensure quality, Dr Asamoah said the Commission had collaborated with industry to review all the processes including occupational standard generation, learning material development, assessment instruments, marking guidelines and re-marking guidelines to ensure that the education remained relevant, and responsive to industry demands.
“The current CBT curriculum development is designed to address skills gaps with the support of sector skills bodies,” he emphasised.
He said the Commission’s approach to curriculum development involved reaching out to industries through their Sector Skills Bodies (SSBs) for tasks such as occupational standards generation, validation, curriculum development, and other engagements related to TVET.
Dr Asamoah said the SSBs were advisory industry bodies that aimed to support the government of Ghana’s strategy to build a skills system to produce a demand-driven, robust labour market, and skills intelligence.
“In essence, SSBs consist of related major industries or enterprises under a common structure, working to drive growth and competitiveness within their sector,” he emphasised.
He said the primary function of SSBs was to reform skills development in the country and globally by strengthening the linkages between industry and training systems.
“As of 2023, the number of economic sectors identified by the Ministry of Education through the Commission has increased from 22 to 24.
The total number of established SSBs as of 2023 is 12. Among the remaining 12 sectors, four (Environment, Sanitation and Waste Management, Media and Entertainment, Telecommunication, and Electricals, Electronics, and Automation) are currently in the process of establishment,” he stressed.
Dr Asamoah said the Commission in collaboration with the SSBs, had developed 108 CBT curriculum at various levels on the NTVETQF.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
