Free Technical and Vocational Education: NVTI Applauds Government’s Decision
The National Vocational Training Institute, NVTI has lauded the president of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo and his government for their resolve to provide free Vocational and Technical Education from the next academic year.
The free technical education policy according to the Executive Director of the NVTI is a step in the right direction.
President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in March 2018 announced that his government will this year, 2018, extend the free Senior High School initiative to cover technical and vocational institutions in the country.
He said the initiative will be launched later in the year to help equip the youth with skills for the transformation of the Ghanaian economy.
The initiative implies that, students within the various technical and vocational institutions as well as technical universities in Ghana will attend school free of charge.
The Executive Director of the NVTI, Madam Mawusi Nudekor Awity who spoke in an interview with Rite News described the decision as a piece of good news for the institution.
“This is good news and everybody, including staff across the various vocational and technical educational facilities are excited that their trainees are going to benefit from the free education,” madam Awity observed.
She expressed optimism that the step will lead to the expansion in technical and vocational education since students who otherwise would have stayed home owing to financial difficulties, will be enrolled into various NVTI programs.
“The step will create a big expansion in the NVTI because the policy will enroll a lot of people who are unable to access education due to financial challenges into education in our various centers and also facilitate the process of contributing to the creation of a well skilled work force for the country,” she posited.
She regretted the situation where the country relied on bringing in people from other countries to undertake activities such as decoration.
“…for instance why do we have to import people from Togo and other places to come and do interior decorations when there are people here with such skills,” she queried. “The NVTI is here to offer such training and so we are grateful for government for coming in to support the technical and vocational schools
She noted that the intervention will put the economy on the right path because the country will be equipped with business-oriented individuals capable of setting up their own businesses as well as the ability to employ many people.
Madam Awity who attributed the industrialization of most countries including Malaysia, Singapore and Korea to vocational and technical education, said contrary to popular perception that vocational and technical education is for second class students stressed that such education is for the “brilliant and intellectual students.”
Ghana currently has some form of free education from the basic level up to the senior high school level and the free technical and vocational education is expected to run parallel with the free basic and senior high school programme.
By Austin Ofori Addo/ritefmonline.org/austinofori.addo@gmail.com
