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Technical institute helps unearth youth potential
Mr Justice Samuel Adjei addressing the Silver Jubilee ceremony

Technical institute helps unearth youth potential

Saint Vitus Technical Institute was established in Sunyani 25 years ago to equip young adults with employable skills through technical education. 

This is a positive step to building a strong foundation for the youth and to enable them to develop their potential and play positive roles in the development of the country. 

In particular, technical education offers an opportunity for the youth to be self-employed and create employment for others.

The institute, which started in 1991 at the residence of its founder, Mr Michael Dono, with only seven students who studied Electronics and Electrical Installation programmes, now provides technical education for the youth in the Brong Ahafo Region and beyond and had significantly increased its student population over the last 25 years, with 300 at the basic and 150 at the technical levels now.

Celebrating achievements

The old students of the school, now gainfully employed in various government and non-governmental organisations, together with current students, staff, parents and members   of the public, who recently met to celebrate the achievements of the school over the past 25 years, were full of joy.

The theme for the celebration was, “25 years of developing the academic and career potential of the future leaders: the way forward”.

Today, the school is on a large track of land at Baakoniaba, a suburb of Sunyani and had expanded its course structure, introducing programmes such as Building Construction programme, examined by the Technical Education Unit, and General Arts and Business programmes examined by the West African Examination Council.

Vision

According to the Headmistress of the institute, Mrs Stephanie Dono Apae-Nyelom, the institute was established with an ambitious, progressive and unique vision, and with the aim of impacting knowledge to people who may not benefit from the traditional educational system.

She said the school had worked over the decades to attain academic excellence and personality development for its students, adding that products of the school were now performing efficiently in most of the public and private sectors of the economy.

Mrs Apae-Nyelom said 12 years into the running of the institute an early childhood development centre was established to deepen the vision of the founder to build a solid foundation for children.

That, according to her, was to ensure effective transfer of knowledge and capacity building to sharpen the career potential of the youth.

The early childhood centre has now expanded into a preparatory and junior high section, giving pupils an enabling environment to unearth their inherent academic talents to grow up into responsible adults.

Looking head

Touching on the prospects of the school the next 25 years, Mrs Apae-Nyelom said, “We shall seek to serve more than to be served, to understand more than to be understood, and develop the academic and career potential of more children and youth at a higher rate.”

According to her, since the world was changing at a very fast pace, there was the need for St Vitus to redouble its efforts to catch up with the rest of the world.

Mrs Apae-Nyelom disclosed that the school had extended its services not only to students and pupils but also to institutions, schools, companies and organisations by introducing a specialised consulting unit.

The unit avails its services to all schools in the Brong Ahafo Region and beyond to aid them to champion sustainable change, development and transformation in their respective organisations.

Mrs Apae-Nyelom appealed to the government to take a closer look at the number of pupils who do not have the opportunity to enjoy the life- transforming education available in some accredited private schools due to the school placement system, which according to her, placed a relatively lower percentage of students in the private second cycle schools in the country.

Reducing unemployment 

In his address, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Justice Samuel Adjei, said the government had identified technical and vocational education as the avenue to reduce the unemployment rate in the country.

He said the quality of the country’s technical and vocational institutions could no more be compromised, hence the government’s decision to improve infrastructure and provide equipment in such institutions across the country.

Mr Adjei called on Ghanaians to disregard the notion that technical and vocational education was reserved for students who were academically weak since a number of captains of industry in the country and beyond were enjoying the fruits of technical and vocational education.

 

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