Aware of the fact that workers with technical education background have contributed about 60 per cent of the gross domestic product of countries, a clarion call has been made for Ghana to place emphasis on technical education for economic growth.

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum in a speech read on his behalf at the 22nd Congregation of Accra Technical University (ATU) on Friday, February 24, 2023, said countries with gross tertiary enrollment ratio above 40 per cent devel­oped faster.

He said technical and vocational educa­tion played a significant role in the devel­opment of a country and could, therefore, be used to provide a robust economy.

Dr Osei Adutwum said in view of the changes which had impacted negatively on the international market, it became imperative that students were prepared adequately to meet international best practices around the globe.

He said the government had introduced an Engineering Programme which would provide students who had no knowledge in General Science, an opportunity to study Engineering at the Post Secondary level for one year adding that the programme was to prepare the students to gain admission to read Engineering in the university.

He said the government had introduced an improved Student’s Loan Policy which did not require a guarantor and as well increased the grant to GHC 3,000.00.

The Guest Speaker, Mr Davies Narh Koboe, an alumnus, said Ghana could attain the enviable height like China it had strategically realigned its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) needs.

He said the country’s flagship pro­grammes would be a mirage if it failed to prioritise TVET to provide the needed man­power to drive the manufacturing sector.

He said recent report had shown that the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant in the Western Region had saved the country about $ 3 million every month when the company replaced expatriates staff with their Ghanaian counterparts.

He said the social and economic impact on the country’s development would be enormous if certain strategic sectors were controlled by Ghanaians.

The Vice-Chancellor of Accra Technical University (ATU), Prof Samuel Nii Odai, said a total of 4,282 students, made up of 1,482 Bachelor of Technology, 2,496 Higher National Diploma (HND), 219 Diploma and 85 Certificate and Diploma for the Ghana Armed Forces ,graduated.

He said a total of 468 graduands had First Class, while the university’s Gov­erning Council had approved 24 policies in 2022 in order to support the quality of governance and systems.

He said the university had commenced massive roll out of the 4-year BTech programmes in the 2021/2022 academic year stressing that the total number of programmes with full accreditation stood at 12.

Prof Odai said the university had signed Memoranda of Understanding with many institutions abroad in a bid to improve on learning and teaching.

In his Valedictory address, Master Fia­wogbe Addison thanked parents,guardians and lecturers for their invaluable services which had facilitated their studies.

He called on his colleague graduates to remain focused in their field of work.

 By Raymond Kyekye