Principals appeal for the restoration of service grant
The Association of Principals of Technical Institutions (APTI) has appealed to the Government for the restoration of service grant for training materials provided to the technical institutes.
In addition, the release should be on time or the institutions allowed charging parents for them.
The appeal was contained in an eight-point communiqué issued at the end of the 29th Conference of the Association in Sunyani.
The five-day conference on the theme “Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) As an Agent of Change for Ghana’s Industrial Development” reviewed its activities and developed strategies to meet the challenges and deliberated on matters that affected the development of TVET and their work as principals.
It was attended by the Principals of 45 institutions under the Ministry of Education (MoE).
The communiqué suggested that the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) and the Skill Development Fund (SDF) should create a special window solely for technical institutions to source funds for training, tools, equipment and infrastructure in the formal sector.
It said Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) at the second cycle institutions should be made free to improve on enrolment, while the Technical Examination Unit became an autonomous and examination body for COTVET.
The communiqué said government should make it possible for minor contracts (especially in the TVET institutions) to be awarded to TVET Institutions for effective training and raising of internally generated funds.
“Government should consider upward review of utility grant to TVET Institutions as machines and plants used consumed a lot of electricity,” it added.
The communiqué said a TVET Stakeholders forum for the MoE, COTVET, NABPTEX, APTI, Polytechnics, UEW and KNUST should be organised to meet and deliberate annually or biannually on issues affecting TVET and particularly its delivery institutions in the country.
The APTI commended the Government and Ghana Education Service (GES) for their efforts in projecting and improving TVET.
Source: GNA