Professor Stephen Adei, a former Rector of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has advised the government to scrap paying trainee teachers and nurses allowances.
He said the monies used to pay those allowances can be invested in Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET).
“It is time to put the required emphasis on TVET because of its critical role in national development. By technical and vocational education and training we are talking about aspects of learning directed towards the acquisition of knowledge, competencies and know-how to undertake trades and occupations that require practical and applied skills as well as applied scientific knowledge as opposed to general arts or even basic science education”, he said.
Professor Adei said it is time government invests and funds the cost of technical and vocational education which was more expensive than classical education and training.
He spoke at the First Convocation Lecture organized by the Takoradi Technical University.
“I do not even think that today teachers and nurses should get free education and the National Democratic Congress’s policy to that end must be revisited”, he advised.
Professor Adei said “for example, if the government would stop literally putting in huge resources to support arts and social science students in the public universities, there would be enough funds within current budgetary constraints to provide the funding needed for TVET. And TVET institutions require state of the art facilities and adequate staffing.”
He said technical and vocational education and training aims to help learners to acquire practical and applied skills which is career-focused, hands-on and skilled based for self-employment and the development of skilled labour force for the productive sectors of the economy.
“It is not that these professions are not important for national development. I say so because as an economist I know that if the government does not support them we will still have enough people doing courses as they do by going to private universities”, he said.