The Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Technical Vocational Education and Training, Mrs Gifty Twum-Ampofo has called on technical
universities to focus more on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) courses and less humanities in their universities.

According to her, the technical universities were set up for that purpose, and hence needed to concentrate more on STEM courses to enable the country reap the full benefit.

“The ratio of humanities to that of STEM or TVET should increase higher and higher and I believe that would be a vehicle to which Ghana can reach a point beyond aid,” she stated.

Mrs Twum-Ampofo, who represented the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, made these statements during the 19th Congregation of the Koforidua Technical University (KTU) in Koforidua.

2, 241 students who have passed for awards of Degrees and Diplomas qualification in 2022 academic year graduated during the ceremony themed “The Role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Products in Value Addition to Ghana’s Economic Growth and Development.”

Mrs Twum-Ampofo indicated that for the country to go beyond aid, there was the need to equip students with skills in STEM and TVET to enable them engage in industrialization that would turn around the fortunes of the country in recent times where technology has far advanced.

By that, she indicated that the country would achieve economic growth and development to make Ghana robust beyond aid.

She reiterated that technical universities ensure that students were trained in more of STEM/TVET courses and less in humanities to achieve the country’s objectives on STEM education.

For his part, the Vice Chancellor of the KTU, Professor David Kofi Essumang stated the need for Science and Mathematics education to be strengthened at the Senior High Level of education.

According to him, greater efforts to give priority to STEM education in the Senior High Schools level would help to feed the technical universities with the necessary human resources to appropriately carry out their mandate.

“Technical Universities in Ghana are mandated by the Universities Act, 2016 (Act 922) to equip students with technical skills required for industry and with this mandate, technical universities are expected to focus on engineering, science, vocational and technical-oriented programmes with little or no concentration on Business and Humanities,” he explained.

He said for the country to attain economic growth and development, there was the need to ensure that the mandate of the technical universities was achieved to enable the country have the needed manpower to fuel the expected economic growth.

Speaking on the challenges of the University, he revealed that it faced infrastructural challenges, adding that lecture halls, students and residential accommodation for staff were inadequate.

“There is only one hostel on our campus and this is woefully inadequate. The 448-bed GET Fund student hostel is inadequate for the teeming students,” he said.

He stated that it has become a major challenge facing the university and called on government and philanthropists to come to their aid.

Congratulating the grandaunts, he encouraged them to uphold the core values of innovation, integrity and impact imbibed in them to enable them to be successful in life

From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua