The government has been urged to commit more resources to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to produce “doers and makers” to achieve the goals of the One District One Factory (IDIF) programme.
Delivering a lecture at Winneba as part of activities marking the 25th anniversary of the University of Education Winneba (UEW) last Wednesday October 16, the former principal of the Kumasi Campus of UEW, Prof. Emmanuel James Flolu, said “the programme is struggling simply because we do not have enough makers and doers on the ground.”
He said “TVET which has remained topical since the colonial days. We have spent all the past years advocating but doing little in that regard. In recent years, Ghana has taken the issue of TVET more seriously than ever before and based also on the realisation that the current national education policy objectives, the production of quality human capital for industry and commerce, depend largely on the availability of both high quality teachers and high quality teacher educators in TVET,” he said.
“Realising that it is by doing and making that we can grow as a nation, the government has launched the One District One Factory programme.
The purpose is to enable us to make and do as well as produce makers and doers,” he added.
“Yet the programme is struggling simply because we do not have enough makers and doers on the ground. We are waiting and looking for foreigners and foreign resources to do the things for us. All what we hear of is that, “some investors are coming from Germany, China, Japan and so on. They are bringing some machines and equipment for this or that”.
Prof. Flolu, who is the Chairman of Ho Technical University Governing Council observed that “we do have some famous makers and doers and producers locally including medical doctors. All Ghanaians have been diagnosed with piles, ‘kooko’ and the men are sexually weak. So there are producers of ‘kooko’ treatment medicines and sex enhancement products. Think of the more than a hundred varieties of Akpeteshie, Alomo and Adonko Bitters, Joy Daddy, Kpoo Keke and the like.”
“But we do not have makers and doers in the manufacturing sector which has been identified as the major means of driving and turning around the economy,” he lamented.
“In fact to make the One District, One Factory programme successful, we should begin by training and producing the doers and makers and teachers of trainers of doers and makers.”
He said if each district could boast of at least 10 makers and doers and trainers of makers who were able to use rural wisdom, indigenous resources and local materials combined with current global entrepreneurial ideas and skills to make and do, “we shall become an enviable nation within the sub region.”
“I suggest to the President and Government to expand the mantra of One District One Factory to go as follows: “One District, One Factory, One District, Ten Makers and Trainers of Doers”. As part of our mandate, UEW should be the champions, and the pioneers in this project,” he said.
