Mahama committed to making TVET key to national development – Dr. Apaak

Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Apaak, says President John Dramani Mahama remains committed to positioning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a major driver of national development.

Dr. Apaak, who wrote in a social media post on Wednesday, described the President’s recent remarks on technical education as a clear demonstration of the government’s determination to transform the sector.

“Another unambiguous confirmation of HEs commitment to making TVET education a conduit for national development,” Dr. Apaak stated.

According to him, the government is determined to remove the long-standing stigma associated with technical and vocational education and make it attractive to young people.

“TVET education is not and can’t be a second option. We are repositioning TVET education as a first option,” he stressed.

He further stated that the era where technical education was looked down upon must end.

“The days when TVET education was stigmatised, indeed seen as reserved for less academically inclined students, are long gone,” Dr. Apaak added.

The Deputy Minister’s comments follow President Mahama’s address at the 4th Biennial Applied Research Conference of Technical Universities in Takoradi, where the President outlined plans to strengthen STEM and technical education across the country.

President Mahama tasked technical universities to align their academic programmes with the government’s policy of promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education.

As part of the government’s plans, the President pledged GHS10 million each to the country’s ten public technical universities in the 2027 budget to support infrastructure expansion, laboratories and equipment acquisition.

The President explained that the investment is intended to help technical universities fulfil the objectives behind the conversion of polytechnics into universities.

“You must focus on hands-on, competence-based technical and vocational training aligned with the German model,” President Mahama stated during the conference.

He also announced plans to establish additional technical universities in Jasikan in the Oti Region and Techiman in the Bono East Region.

According to the President, the new institutions, together with a proposed University of Science and Technology in the Savannah Region, will help bridge the gap between science and industry while creating opportunities for innovation and employment.

“The new universities will be the bridge between the world of science and industry,” President Mahama said.