The National Youth Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Forum has called for more investment in TVET education in Ghana. The forum, which was held on September 5, 2023, at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, was attended by representatives of youth groups, CSOs, government officials, TVET schools, and other stakeholders.
The forum reviewed the implementation of Ghana’s 5-year strategic plan (2017-2022) for TVET and FOSDA’s report on the My TVET My Report project, a youth-led monitoring of TVET schools nationwide. The report focused on accessibility and participation, quality, infrastructure financing, and Adaptation of Green TVET.
The forum acknowledged that the TVET strategic plan had been significantly implemented and has achieved notable results, such as the realignment of TVET institutions in the country under the Ministry of Education, establishment of the TVET Service, rebranding of the TVET Commission, infrastructure improvement of all National Vocational Training Institutions (NVTI), tooling of Technical Universities and some schools, among others. However, the forum also agreed that a lot remains to be done, especially regarding infrastructure and teaching material in some TVET Schools.
The forum also acknowledged that TVET education is expensive, hence the need for more investment in the sector for a total transformation. Participants believed that the current transformation and reformation process is relatively slow due to the expensive nature of the industry. This calls for Mechanisms and policies that will increase investment and support for the sector as well as efficient spending.
The forum adopted the following recommendations:
- Government should upgrade all existing TVET institutions across the country with state-of-the-art facilities, i.e., practical rooms and laboratories, within the shortest possible time.
- Make TVET more affordable and accessible to the youth by reviewing the Free TVET funding structure to accommodate the realistic cost of practical.
- Adopt and develop green TVET programs and teaching methodologies.
- Strengthen the coordination and collaboration between TVET institutions and employers.
- Develop systems for consistently monitoring TVET institutions to enhance the culture of maintenance and sustainability of reforms.
- Develop more programmes and expand support for youth start-ups in the TVET Sector.
- Motivate industry players with tax incentives to support the TVET sector.
- Increase domestic investment in TVET through the dedication of 30% of the Communication Service Tax from the youth bracket and 5% of the oil revenue from the education share of the Annual Budget Funding Amount to fund TVET education, particularly infrastructure, including accommodation, laboratory, and tools.
- Engender national conversation on realistic cost development for the TVET sector/institutions.
- Mobilization of internal resources – home-generated resources Effective planning, minimizing waste, and promoting efficient spending
The forum was a positive step forward for the TVET sector in Ghana. The forum raised awareness of the importance of TVET and generated a lot of discussion and debate on how to improve the sector. The recommendations from the forum will be used to inform the development of future TVET policies and programs.