Vice-President Bawumia (right) with Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, First Chancellor of the Kumasi Technical University
Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has called on the Chancellor of the Kumasi Technical University (KsTU) and all heads of tertiary institutions to prioritise Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the country.
He stressed the need to put premium on technical education in Ghana and beyond to achieve government’s focus on TVET. According to the Vice-President, the free Senior High School and Free TVET policies have become permanent features of educational architecture in the country and their foundations would be embedded in other reforms in the TVET Education.
The Vice-President made the call during the induction of former Minister of Defense, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, into office as the First Chancellor of the Kumasi Technical University last Friday.
“Building on the foundations established by President John Agyekum Kufuor, the government of Nana Akufo-Addo has demonstrated a renewed commitment to technical and vocational education both at the secondary and tertiary levels,” he said.
This, he said, was the vision of government since 2017 to align the TVET institutions in the country, to provide appropriate governance and management structure for a unified national TVET system.
He explained that the realignment of the TVET landscape is to provide coordination of the curriculum, training of trainers or facilitators, and linkage with industry. He added that it will also provide entry requirement, training facilities, and mode of delivery, assessment, certification system and employability of graduates by synchronising all existing laws relating to skills training in the country.
Competence
Describing the new KsTU Chancellor as “a man of integrity”, the Vice-President also acknowledged Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor as “a brilliant mind, high academic achiever, high professional achiever, a statesman, a family man, and a God-fearing man”.
“But for me, there is one thing that crowns all of these defining characteristics of this eminent personality: Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor is a man of integrity, and therefore is a mentor for all of us in public service… So for Kumasi Technical University to choose him as your Chancellor, you have virtually won the lottery. You can be assured of stellar leadership,” he stressed.
“It is a well-deserved honour as all that you have done for mother Ghana in the capacity as the former Board Chairman of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), President of the Ghana Medical Association, Member of Parliament of Manhyia Constituency, Minister of Defence and Acting Minister of Interior establishes that it is entirely appropriate that you have been appointed as the Chancellor of the University.
“Nonetheless, I believe the University could not have picked a worthier leader than you. Your worth of experience, as a Board Chairman of Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organisation (SMIDO) indicates your in-depth knowledge and already established interest in Technical and Vocational Education,” Dr Bawumia noted.
The Vice-President was confident that the institution’s continuous efforts in “building the workforce of the future generation whose work will give full meaning to the words of the country’s motto “Freedom and Justice”.
He also hoped that Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor will churn out students that would build a new Ghanaian civilisation filled with possibilities to move Ghana forward.
