Analysis: John Mahama got it wrong in his Manifesto promises

Listening to him yesterday on his Manifesto launch, the ex-president, John Dramani Mahama, promised that he will use the NTVI to train the youth in Ghana to gain TVET skills to create employable opportunities and jobs creation. This amongst other promises, clearly show that he’s not up to date with the current happenings and the … The post Analysis: John Mahama got it wrong in his Manifesto promises appeared first on Asaase Radio.

Aug 25, 2024 - 06:55
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Analysis: John Mahama got it wrong in his Manifesto promises

Listening to him yesterday on his Manifesto launch, the ex-president, John Dramani Mahama, promised that he will use the NTVI to train the youth in Ghana to gain TVET skills to create employable opportunities and jobs creation.

This amongst other promises, clearly show that he’s not up to date with the current happenings and the new Acts enacted by Parliament of Ghana and the superior reformative policies that have been introduced in our educational system.

The fact is, the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) does not exist anymore as an agency mandated to train or issue certificates for TVET trainees.

The new Act, Education Regulatory Bodies Act 2020, (Act 1023) and the Pre-tertiary Education Act 2020 (Act 1049) mandates the Commission for Technical and Vocational EducationandTraining (CTVET) to regulate, administer, promote TVET across the broad spectrum of the TVET landscape, and carry out the assessments and certifications of all TVET institutions in Ghana, and for Ghana TVET Service manage the public TVET institutions respectively.

The Government of Ghana since the enactment of the Pre-tertiary Education Act 2020 (Act 1049), realigned all technical and vocation schools including the NVTIs, Community Development Training centres, Social Welfare Training centres, Aviation training centres, Ministry of Sports Training centres and others from various ministries to come under the Ministry of Education to be managed by the TVET Service, and for the Ghana Education Service (GES) now to manage only the grammar schools in Ghana.

Subsequently, bove the TVET institutions and GES schools are computerised onto the Schools Selection Placement System (CSSPS) as beneficiary schools of the Free SHS Policy.

Also, the Commission has fully implemented the National TVET Qualifications Framework (NTVETQF) already with the eight levels, from Proficiency 1 & 2, National Certificate 1&2, Higher National Diploma (HND), Bachelor’s degree of Technology, Master’s Degree of Technology and Doctorate Degree of Technology.

Therefore, ex-president John Mahama’s promise to “fully implement the NTVETQF is a total misplaced promise in their manifesto.

Again, Mahama’s promise to implement the RPL is neither here nor there. The Commission for TVET has already implemented the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy with legal formalization and taking place in over 17 approved TVET centres in Ghana. As a first step, the lowest two qualifications, Proficiency I and II, recognize competencies from the traditional informal apprenticeship, an important means of training in Ghana.

Also, on 13th March 2024, the Vice President of Ghana, Dr Bawumia, launched the National Apprenticeship Policy under the auspices of the Commission for TVET. Today, over 19,000 Mastercrasft Persons and their apprentices have benefited from the policy.

This policy has been expanded to train and upskill over 50,000 Ghanaian youth in the year ahead. Therefore, Mahama needs to update his ideas on the TVET landscape in Ghana now. His promises are totally empty.

Mahama’s promise to introduce Robotics competition across SHS in Ghana is an inferior policy idea as compared to the STEM Innovation competition currently introduced by the Ministry of Education.

Already, the Ministry of Education has implemented the STEMNNOVATION competition across the SHS, SHTS, and TVET institutions. Last year 2023, the National best STEMNNOVATION students, after the competition, were invited to Japan.

The STEMNNOVATION rather provides a broader national battle of ideas among SHS, SHTS, and TVET institutions across tge country, challenging Ghanaian Children to employ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) including the use of ROBOTICS, Mechatronics, and Computer Aided Design Software Applications in finding lasting solutions to problems in their communities for the socioeconomic development of Ghana.

The essence of the STEMNNOVATION contest is to creatively transform communities in Ghana through STEM.

Over 60% of Mahama’s vision for the youth in his Manifesto to use TVET to create employable skills for the youth in Ghana are inferior to the current running policies under this government and Dr Bawumia’s vision to train one million Ghanaian youth to have digital skills is superior idea. Under President Akufo-Addo, superior policies have rather been implemented to reform the TVET system in Ghana coupled with huge investments made to shore up TVET as a catalyst to reducing unemployment.

Today, due to the free TVET, enrolment to TVET institutions has increased drastically to over 60,000 per the 2023/24 academic year intake, as compared to about 25,000 enrolment in 2017 enrolment.

The writer is Ing Peter Antwi Boasiako. Deputy Director General, CTVET.

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The post Analysis: John Mahama got it wrong in his Manifesto promises appeared first on Asaase Radio.