Gov't must properly equip Technical Schools

Government has been encouraged to ensure that all public Technical Institutions are well resourced.

This would enable students of these institutions to acquire the necessary skills and practicals before entering the polytechnics, Mr George Nii Torgbor Provincal, immediate Past Principal of the Tema Technical Institute, said on Thursday, during a send-off ceremony held in his honour.

Mr Provincal said it was not enough to build more technical schools without equipment as that would mean reducing them to secondary technical schools instead of fully fledged technical institutions.

He added that the schools must be properly equipped to train and prepare students for the job market.

He further noted that good practices in other parts of the world, such as Japan, Austra, and Britain must be emulated, as they place emphasis on skill training to enhance students abilities.

Mr Provincal encouraged technical schools' students to recognize the importance of their fields and learn towards it, and advised teachers to see students of technical and vocational courses as special, who need attention, orientation and guidance to stay focused on their studies.

Mr Provincal, who became the principal of the TTI in January 2002, and retired in August 2015, is said to be the first principal to retire in office over the 50 years of the existence of the institute.

He was awarded with a citation and other items from staff, students and other organisations for transforming the institute during his 13 years leadership.

There were solidarity messages from Technical, Vocational Education and Training Division of the Ghana Education Service, The Greater Accra Regional Director and the Tema Metropolitan Directors of the Ghana Education Service.