We are repositioning TVET education as a first option – Dr. Apaak 

Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Apaak, says Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is being repositioned as a first-choice pathway for national development.

Writing in a post on Wednesday, Dr. Apaak described the government’s commitment to TVET as clear and deliberate.

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

He added that the perception that TVET was reserved for students considered less academically capable must end.

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

According to him, the government’s focus on technical and vocational training is aimed at making education more practical and responsive to Ghana’s development needs.

“Another unambiguous confirmation of H.E’s [John Mahama] commitment to making TVET education a conduit for national development,” he wrote.

Dr. Apaak noted that he recently visited two examination centres in Accra to monitor TVET examinations, where he observed ongoing efforts to strengthen technical education delivery.

His remarks follow President Mahama’s address at the 4th Biennial Applied Research Conference of Technical Universities in Takoradi, where the President directed technical universities to align their programmes with the government’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) agenda.

President Mahama pledged that each of Ghana’s ten public technical universities would receive GHS10 million in the 2027 budget to improve infrastructure, equipment and laboratory facilities.

The President said technical universities must become the driving force of Ghana’s knowledge-based economy by prioritising practical training, industry partnerships and innovation.

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

He also announced plans to establish two additional technical universities in Jasikan in the Oti Region and Techiman in the Bono East Region, alongside a proposed University of Science and Technology in the Savannah Region.

According to the President, the expansion is intended to improve access to higher education while strengthening science and technology education across the country.