Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, paid a working visit to the Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU) to inspect the ongoing Ghana-China Project on ‘The Rehabilitation and Upgrading of Equipment in Technical Universities and Technical Institutes’.
The project is being implemented to improve the employability of Ghanaian youth by providing them with the relevant skills and competencies required for self and formal employment.
This project will involve the provision of state-of-the-art tools and equipment to 13 Technical Institutes and all the Technical Universities across the country; as well as the construction of a Technical Examinations Unit Block (TEUB) at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED).
The current works at the Cape Coast Technical University, which are about 95% complete, include a fully equipped automobile workshop, a civil engineering workshop, a mechanical engineering workshop, an electrical and electronics workshop, and a welding workshop.
A significant aspect of this project is that all the tools and equipment being installed in these workshops are state-of-the-art, industry-standard equipment, which will ensure that students who graduate from these institutions have industry-ready skills.
According to Dr. Adutwum, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government sees education, especially Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), as the key to transforming Ghana, and thus has prioritized these areas to make them the bedrock of Ghana’s industrialization agenda.
He also stated that the university should identify and align specific industry partners for the various workshops.
Accompanying the Honourable Minister was Dr. Fred Kyei Asamoah, (Ag. Director General of CTVET), Mr. Benjamin K. Gyasi (Chief Director of the Ministry of Education), and other officials of the Ministry of Education.
Dr. Asamoah indicated that the Commission for TVET, as the regulatory agency for the TVET sector, will ensure that the institutions which are benefitting from the project would use the facilities to follow the required occupational and industry standard in the delivery of TVET.
Vice-Chancellor of CCTU, Prof. Joshua Danso Owusu-Sekyere, expressed gratitude to the government and Ministry of Education for giving new life to TVET through the effective implementation of this project and pledged that the university will put the workshops to good use.
BACKGROUND
The government of Ghana is upgrading a number of Technical Universities and Technical Institutes through the construction of workshops and supply or installation of equipment for the use of these institutions in the delivery of their mandate.
The project is designed to support the government’s efforts within the context of the Human Capital Development priorities and to resolve the key development challenges of low quality of skills produced by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training sub-sector in the country.
Parliament, in March 2018, approved by resolution the concessional loan agreement between the government of Ghana and the EXIM Bank of China for an amount of US$119 million to finance ‘The Rehabilitation and Upgrading of Equipment in Polytechnics and Technical Institutes’ (Including Technical Universities /Polytechnics) project.
Subsequently, in July 2018, Parliament approved the supplementary contract agreement as well as the commercial contract between the government of Ghana and AVIC International Holding Corporation of China for the implementation of the project.
ORIGINAL SCOPE
- Construction of engineering workshops in 10 Technical Institutes
- Construction of engineering workshops in 5 Technical Universities
- Construction of Technical Examination Centre at AAMUSTED
- Provision of engineering laboratory equipment to 15 Technical Universities and Institutes
ADDITIONAL SCOPE
- 8 additional institutions (5 Technical Universities and 3 Technical Institutes) to benefit from the provision of engineering laboratory equipment
- 4 additional institutions to benefit from the additional supply of equipment.
