Technical students to write WAEC exams next year — Dep Education Minister

Students studying under the technical and vocational education programmes (TVET) will from 2022 be able to write their examinations under the West African Examination Council (WAEC) the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of TVET, Ms Gifty Twum-Ampofo, has announced.

That, she said, was to allow for easy access for those who might wish to enrol for regular university programmes to do so.

It followed what Mrs Twum-Ampofo said were the challenges sometimes associated with TVET students getting admissions to such schools apart from technical universities.

Speaking to the media in Tema during a tour of the Tema and Teshie Technical institutes to observe the ongoing final exams by the students, Ms Twum-Ampofo said the government was positioning TVET education as a project focus by improving the quality of training through a more demand-driven direction that would upgrade the skills set of both students and teachers.

The importance on academic qualifications, together with the growth of university enrolment, she explained, made it very difficult for students from TVET institutions to enrol into regular university programming, a move, she said, the Commission for Technical and Vocal Education (CTVET) was willing to reverse.

Tema Tech is among 13 technical and vocational institutions and some technical universities that are benefiting from a training centres upgrading project jointly being financed by the Ghanaian and the Chinese governments.

Workshops

The deputy minister also pointed out that technical and vocational education had become much more important now owing to the government's industrialisation agenda through the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.

As such, the ministry through the CTVET, in partnership with the Association of Ghanaian Industries (AGI), the minister said had established a skill body group which was supervising the development of new curriculum to enhance teaching and learning in addition to internship placement in industries for students.

Ms Twum-Ampofo thus challenged the general public to disabuse their minds of the notion that TVET education was for students who could not make the needed grades to be admitted to mainstream senior high schools (SHS) or universities.

She expressed the hope that the support given to the institutions through the provision of modern equipment and the needed logistics would encourage more young people to opt for technical education.

Tema Tech

The Principal of the Tema Tech, Mr Asamoah Duku, in his remarks, expressed worry at the dilapidated structures housing students which he said had over the years not seen any form of rehabilitation since the establishment of the institution decades ago.

"Most of our equipment for teaching and learning have become obsolete significantly affecting the quality of hands-on training," Mr Duku said.