Focus on producing skilled workforce - Prof. Yankah tells technical universities

Prof Yankah[/caption] The Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah, has restated the government’s commitment to support technical universities with the needed resources to produce the skilled manpower to enhance productivity for the country’s accelerated development. He said the success of government’s programmes to make Ghana an industrial hub of Africa, hinged in part on the ability of the technical education system’s ability to produce advanced skilled workforce to drive the nation’s development forward. Speaking at the first congregation of the Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU), in Cape Coast during the weekend, he called on technical universities to stick to their original path of providing technical-oriented manpower to accelerate the nation’s “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda. Nine-hundred and thirty students, who graduated with Bachelor of Technology degrees and Higher National Diploma, Professional Diplomas and other diplomas were honoured. Discipline Prof. Yankah advised the students to protect the university’s infrastructure, pointing out that they were enjoined to be disciplined so that in times of disagreement with school authorities, the limited facilities at the institutions would not be destroyed and urged them to learn to treat state resources as their private property. He also urged the university authorities to offer programmes to promote the tourism industry in the region, calling on them to “Integrate your programmes and activities with city and regional administrations to develop the human resource and industrial potentials that abound in the region.” The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Osei-Wusu Achaw, said the university had activated three abandoned Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) projects and repackaged them for consideration for funding by GETFund. Staff recruitment On the school’s staff strength, he stated that about 75 of the staff had either retired or resigned, saying staff-student ratio in the institution stood at 56 to one against the National Council for Tertiary Education norm of 18 to one. He noted that there was an urgent need to recruit additional staff to support the work of the institution and also called for the improvement of the university’s sports infrastructure. The Chairman of the university’s council, Prof. Harold Stewart Amonoo-Kuofi, said a five-year strategic plan was being designed to ensure provision and expansion of the university’s infrastructure to ensure quality teaching and learning, research and innovation. Source: Daily Graphic | Ghana]]>