The Ministry of Education (MoE) has reaffirmed Government’s resolve to work with Universities in the Country to strengthen the education sector.
Dr Eric Nkansah, a Deputy Director of Education in charge of Tertiary Education, said efforts by the Government to prioritize Technical, Vocational, Engineering and Technology (TVET) as a catalyst to accelerate industrialization in the country were laudable.
Dr Nkansah made the statement on behalf of the Minister of Education at the launch of a five-year strategic plan by the Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU) in Cape Coast.
The plan is anchored on five pillars namely, quality teaching and learning, research and innovation, infrastructural development, enhanced student welfare, community outreach and institutional capacity to provide quality human support to Ghana’s industrial drive such as the 1 District-1 Factory (1D1F) initiative for accelerated development.
He urged the institution to work assiduously to ensure the full implementation of the strategic plan, which was essential to facilitate the long-term growth and evolution of the University and the country as a whole.
The Deputy Director said that the institution had chosen the right path towards developing into a world-class institution hence aligning with Government’s agenda to transform the country through education.
He said the Ministry was tasked by the President to increase its Gross Evolution Ratio to 40 per cent by 2030 hence collaboration with universities was key in that pursuit.
Dr Nkansah noted that the Government was pursuing reforms in the education sector to move into the fourth industrial revolution and was focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to achieve that vision.
He explained that the challenge was that only 12 per cent of students in Second Cycle Schools were offering STEM, but there were short and long-term plans to address them.
He noted that the government was expanding and resourcing laboratories and building new science resource centres, among others for second-cycle schools to help increase the number of students offering Science related subjects.
Dr Nkansah said the Government had introduced a pre-engineering programme to train and prepare students who are not offered science to pursue TVET at the tertiary level.
Rev Professor Joshua Danso Owusu-Sekyere, the Vice Chancellor of CCTU, noted that Technical, Vocational, Engineering and Technology (TVET) had become very relevant in the developmental agenda of nations.
Hence, the need for Technical Universities to partner with industries to implement the strategic plan to facilitate the industrialization drive of the Government.
The Vice-Chancellor noted that realizing the University’s goals and objectives towards transforming the lives of the students for national development could not be overemphasized.
He indicated that more technical staff were going to be produced to support the operation of factories under the 1D1F initiative without necessarily relying on expatriates to manage them.
Prof Owusu- Sekyere called on the government to resource the Technical University to deliver effectively on its mandate of boosting job creation and manpower development in the country.
Professor Samuel Ato Duncan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Centre of Awareness Research and Manufacturing Limited (COARML), representing Industry at the launch, told Universities to integrate a working collaboration with industries to accelerate development for industrialization drive to be realised.
He called on them to build a strong relationship with industries to provide a long-lasting bond.
Prof Duncan revealed that his outfit would soon establish peace clubs in the University to promote peace among students and in their communities.
He donated GHC 100.000.00 to the institution to support the implementation of the strategic plan.
