Parents and teachers urged to prioritize TVET in SHS selection

Linda Agyei, the Director of Vocational Training for Females (VTF), has urged parents and teachers to make Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) a priority in the choice of courses for final year Junior High School (JHS) students.

She said there were many opportunities for career development in TVET but these chances were unknown to the public, especially parents and teachers.

She explained TVET had a strong work-based learning element, providing skills which facilitated young people's transition to work and industry.

Ms Agyei, in an interview with Ghana News Agency, indicated that her outfit, an organisation with a reputation for TVET Advocacy, had embarked on a National Awareness Creation Campaign to erase the negative perception on TVET education.

As part of the campaign, VTF is engaging the public, especially students and parents through fora and distribution of educative materials that explain the career path and progression of TVET programmes to correct the negative perception on TVET.

The Director of VTF noted that many Ghanaians think that TVET was limited to the few trades like catering, fashion, hairdressing, carpentry and masonry, which could be learnt through apprenticeship and stressed that TVET was not for the academically poor students.

She said the government had provided a National TVET Qualification Framework (NTQF), which allowed those who opted for TVET to progress on a career development path.

She called for concerted effort to re-orient the public to accept TVET as "a programme of choice and not by default."

Ms Agyei expressed the hope that with the interest shown by government as a result of advocacy championed by stakeholders, TVET would be prioritised to harness its potentials and benefits to drive innovation and technology for national development.