Technical,Vocational education receives financial support

In the next five years, the DSIP would expand and upgrade the infrastructure in the 13 TVET institutions, provide master’s and doctoral scholarship to 25 lectures in TVET instructor training institutes, train over 200 TVET instructors, train and equip 500 master craftsmen to enable them efficiently train their apprentices, provide scholarships for 1,500 technical and vocational students as well as stipends for 2,500 apprentices.

The five-year project would also support the institutional strengthening of COTVET by building a permanent office complex and providing human capacity development schemes for its staff, partners and collaborators.

This would ensure expanded and equitable access to public TVET institutions by females and the rural poor, improved relevance and quality of TVET training, delivery, management and coordination.

The DSIP would be implemented by the Project Support Unit (PSU) of COTVET and shall focus on achieving a number of outcomes in the TVET sub-sector within the next five years, the Head of the COTVET Project Support, Matthew Dally, said.

The initiative would result in improved teaching and learning environment in the 13 training institutions and increased equitable access to, and participation of disadvantaged populations, especially females in science related TVET courses.

It would also lead to improved quality and relevance of TVET programmes, strengthened human and institutional capacity to coordinate, manage and deliver TVET and efficient and effective policy, planning and quality control systems for TVET established at the coordination level.

Mr Dally was optimistic that the DSIP initiative would contribute to address the key issue of human capital development through increasing the capacity of the country to produce high calibre technical and vocational skills to facilitate readiness for technological change and meet the demands of industry.

In a related development, the government has received financial support of GH¢114 million from the World Bank and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) towards the setting up and implementation of a Skills Development Fund.

The five-year fund (2011-2015) is an initiative of the government and managed by COTVET.