By Emelia B. Addae,
Koforidua, Jan. 21, GNA – Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, has said to achieve accessible, inclusive, and meaningful education through the development of employable skills, promotion of innovative enterprises, and advancement of excellence in human capital, it will require major policy shifts and innovative interventions.
He said these policies and interventions included uncapping the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) and directing its resources to its core mandate, such as massive infrastructural development in the various educational institutions.
The Minister of Education, said this in a speech read on his behalf by Professor Mrs Smile Dzisi, the Deputy Director General of the Ghana Education Service, at the 22nd congregation ceremony of the Koforidua Technical University (KTU) on the theme: “Technical Education for Innovation, Employability and Global Competitiveness.”
He said the government had already rolled out the NO- FEE-STRESS policy to absorb fees for the first year of higher education in public universities and colleges and further guaranteed free higher education for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
These, together with an enhanced student loan scheme, were expected to expand access, promote inclusion, and lessen the burden on students and households, Mr Iddrisu said.
He said such innovative social interventions would ultimately improve the life outcomes of the youth and help build the Ghana that was desired by all.
The Minister said, “As government commits more resources towards resetting our educational system, it is expected that our institutions of higher learning will collaborate with industries in leading the conversation about the transformational curricula needed to leapfrog us into a stronger economy and better standards of life.”
“This is particularly necessary because some of the job creation intervention programmes being rolled out by this government have become critical partly due to employability gaps in the curricula,” Mr Iddrisu said.
He therefore challenged all Technical Universities to place employable skills and hands-on-practical entrepreneurship at the core of their education delivery.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo