Let’s give attention to technical education — Togbe Dzaga
The Paramount Chief of the Klefe Traditional Area,Togbe Koku Dzaga XI, has called on the Ministry of Education to give priority to Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), to support sustainable development.
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Speaking at this year’s Klefe Yam Festival on the theme ‘Promoting Technical and Vocational Education for sustainable development’, the paramount chief stated that skills acquisition was the solution to the country’s economic recovery and poverty.
He said graduate unemployment had become a global challenge, posing major challenges to governments, policy makers, parents, the graduates themselves and the community at large, stressing that many countries including the U.K, USA, Malaysia, and Malawi were turning to TVET to create a self-reliant workforce and reduce reliance on public-sector employment.
UNESCO‘s stand
He mentioned that since 2009, UNESCO had taken the lead in a global debate by advocating for policy makers to consider TVET as a priority area for sustainable development, indicating that it would be a positive step for the Education Ministry to rethink of ways to enhance TVET.
The objective of this year’s festival was to raise funds towards the construction of classroom blocks for the Klefe Technical and Vocational School which constituted an important agenda for the citizenry.
According to the chief, the desire of the people to expand facilities of the technical institution was because they believed that without adequate investment in developing the human capital, accelerated growth in the community would not be achieved.
The school, which started with 13 students last year, can now boast over 100 students.
Togbe Dzaga said the rapid growth of the school highlighted the sense of urgency with which they needed to pursue the acquisition of infrastructure, equipment and manpower, and called for assistance from the government and benevolent institutions to achieve that goal.
“ would like to say that technical education is not an alternative path for the academically weak but one of the surest career paths to do what you love and achieve your financial dreams” stated.
Government Programmes
In a speech read on her behalf, the Volta Regional Minister, Ms Helen Adwoa Ntoso, commended the community for the brilliant and progressive way they had secured their own technical and vocational institute without relying on the government, stating that the institute would help equip the youth with employable skills as well as turn out graduates to feed the Ho Polytechnic.
She encouraged the youth to take advantage of youth-development programmes under the various modules of the National Youth Employment Programme and the Local Enterprises and skills Development Programme (LESDEP) to reap optimum benefits.