Deputy Director - General of CTVET writes on Mahama's manifesto on TVET, says the promises are already implemented

Aug 25, 2024 - 17:30
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Deputy Director - General of CTVET writes on Mahama's manifesto on TVET, says the promises are already implemented

Political desk report

(gyamemma5@gmail.com)

Listening to him on his manifesto launch, Former President John Dramani Mahama, promised that he will use the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) to resource the youth in Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) skills to create employable opportunities and jobs creation.

This, amongst other promises, clearly show that he's not up to date with the current happenings and the new Acts enacted by Parliament of Ghana and the superior reformative policies that have been introduced in our educational system.

The fact is that the NVTI does not exist anymore as an agency mandated to train or issue certificates for TVET trainees.

The new Acts, Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020, (Act 1023) and the Pre - tertiary Education Act 2020 (Act 1049) mandate the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET),

to regulate, administer, and promote TVET across the board spectrum of the TVET landscape, carry out the assessments and certifications of all institutions, and for Ghana TVET Service to manage the public institutions respectively.

Government since the enactment of the Pre - tertiary Education Act 2020 (Act 1049), realigned all technical and vocation schools including the NVTIs, Community Development Training centres and Social Welfare Training centres.

The rest including Aviation training centres, Ministry of Sports Training centres and others from various ministries to come under the Ministry of Education to be managed by the TVET Service.

Ghana Education Service (GES) now manages only the grammar schools in Ghana, and subsequently, both the TVET institutions and GES schools are computerised onto the Schools Selection Placement System (CSSPS) as beneficiary schools of the Free SHS Policy. 

The Commission has fully implemented the National TVET Qualifications Framework (NTVETQF) already with the eight levels from Proficiency 1 and 2, National Certificate 1 and 2, HND, Bachelor’s, Master's and Doctorate degrees in Technology. Former President John Mahama's promise to fully implement the NTVETQF is a total misplaced promise in their manifesto. 

Mahama's promise to implement the RPL is neither here nor there.The Commission for TVET has already implemented the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy with legal formalization and taking place in over 17 approved TVET centres in Ghana.

 As a first step, the lowest two qualifications, Proficiency I and II, recognize competencies from the traditional informal apprenticeship, an important means of training in Ghana.

Also, on 13th March 2024, the Vice President of Ghana, Dr Bawumia, launched the National Apprenticeship Policy under the auspices of the Commission for TVET. 

Today, over 19,000 Master craft Persons and their apprentices have benefited from the policy. This policy has been expanded to train and up skill over 50,000 Ghanaian youth in the year ahead.

 Mahama's promise to introduce Robotics competition across SHS in Ghana is an inferior policy idea as compared to the STEM Innovation competition currently introduced by the Ministry of Education.

Already, the Ministry of Education has implemented the STEM innovation competition across the SHS, SHTS, and TVET institutions. In 2023, the National best STEM innovation students were invited to Japan. 

The innovation challenges Ghanaian children to employ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) including the use of robotics, mechanics, electronics and computer - aided design software applications.

 These fields help finding lasting solutions to problems in their communities for the socioeconomic development of Ghana. The essence of the STEM innovation contest is to creatively transform communities in Ghana through STEM.

Over 60 per cent of Mahama's vision for the youth in his Manifesto to use TVET to create employable skills for the youth in Ghana are inferior to the current running policies under this government, and Dr Bawumia's vision to train one million Ghanaian youth to have digital skills is superior idea. 

Under President Akufo - Addo, superior policies have been implemented to reform the TVET system coupled with huge investments made to shore up TVET as a catalyst to reducing unemployment. 

Currently, due to the free TVET, enrolment to its institutions has increased drastically to over 60,000 per the 2023/24 academic year intake, as compared to about 25,000 enrolment in 2017. 

The writer, Ing Peter Antwi Bosiako, is the Deputy Director - General of CTVET in Ghana. 

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