Unaccredited Schools Face Closure

GOVERNMENT IS to close down all unaccredited technical and vocational schools operating in the country.

Minister of Education, Lee Ocran on Tuesday made the disclosure on behalf of President John Mahama during a ceremony to hand over equipment to support the National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP).

“From henceforth, all technical and vocational institutions will be required to be accredited by the Council and to comply with its regulations and standards,” President Mahama noted.

This requirement he said was to ensure that students in those sectors were properly trained and equipped to meet the demands of a modern society.

“It will as well ensure that training institutions that do not meet the required standards are quickly put out of business.”

Mr. Mahama reiterated that the provision of high quality qualifications which were standardized and comparable across the country would promote social mobility and enable citizens to improve their economic situations through training and work.

He therefore commended the Ministry of Education and the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) for the role they were playing in building capacity in technical and vocational education and training.

The President explained that the NAP was a scheme which sought to impart skills to the youth, particularly junior high school graduates who could not gain access into senior high school.

He said about 40% of graduates from JHS were unable to enter into SHS adding that only five percent of the students continued to receive formal technical and vocational education whilst most went into apprenticeship in various trade areas in the informal sector.

“The National Apprenticeship Programme is an effort on the part of the government to support the sector and in order to facilitate the training of the youth government has presented tools and equipment to the various regions in the country.

Last year 5,000 Ghanaian youth benefited from the programme, and were trained in garment making, cosmetology, electronics, auto mechanics and welding and fabrication,” he said.

According to Mr. Mahama, with financing from the GETFUND, the programme had been expanded to benefit 8,000 youth, adding that four more trade areas including ICT, building and construction, carpentry and joinery had also been added.

He explained that the programme had been designed to benefit all Ghanaians, regardless of political creed, ethnicity, gender, or religion.

“I hereby charge the regional ministers, who are taking charge of the tools today, on behalf of thousands of Ghanaian youth, to ensure that the tools are put to proper use, for the benefit of the entire society.”

All 10 regions in the country benefited from 160 tools to assist in garment making, 144 for cosmetology, 96 for welding and fabrication and 104 for block-laying and concreting.

Other tools presented included 60 desktop computers and printers and 104 tools for carpentry and joinery.