THE CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of Young Executive School and Onua Francis International School, Dr Francis Essel Okyeahene, has lauded government for the establishment of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme, which is aimed at providing students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in their chosen career, and to help address any skills gap in the job market of the country.
Dr Essel-Okyeahene, a passionate educationist whose major aim is to support the central government in the delivery of quality basic education to children in the country, welcomed the decision of the government to reform the TVET programme.
Dr. Essel-Okyeahene believes that this move of the government would help promote skill training amongst the youth in the country.
“The TVET system is focused on equipping the learners with hands-on practical skills as opposed to theory. Graduates from TVET school gain both practical and theoretical skills to facilitate their employment," he said.
Dr Essel-Okyeahene expressed his satisfaction with the TVET project initiated by the government and described it as a laudable idea.
He expressed his support for the TVET programme and called for a review to make it more attractive and competitive.
Dr. Essel Okyeahene, whose two schools, Onua Francis International and Young Executive School, have over the years provided quality world class education also noted that after he has built the foundation level of the students, it gives them the capacity to be enrolled into the top class senior high schools in the country.
Without mincing words, Dr. Essel- Okyeahene urged parents to encourage their children and wards to consider choosing TVET schools as they continue with the school selection process.
He explained that choosing TVET schools would help such students enjoy the various benefits in the TVET sector, which held the key to the transformation of the nation’s economy.
"I am encouraging the parents to embrace the TVET programme of the government by way of advising their wards or children to choose TVET institutions, the programme would go a long way to help their children in the future," he further advised.
Speaking further, he stressed the urgent need for the government to solve the problem of the infrastructure deficit confronting the implementation of the TVET programme.
He further emphasized the need for the government to improve the human resources need of the programme, saying that this would go along to enhance the teaching and learning of the programme.
"This call has become necessary because if you are going to teach the children skill training and you the tutor don't know what you are going to teach the kids, or don't have the requisite knowledge to teach, it would be difficult for the children to understand what you are teaching them. It is very important that the government invest in the human resource or capital of the programme to make it effective and efficient “Dr Essel- Okyeahene advised.
He further stressed that the government should invest in the teachers and staff who are working with the TVET programme, emphasizing that that was the only best way the programme could be sustained.
He noted that "if the government has put infrastructure of the TVET programme down and it does not have the people to manage the programme to success, it means that the programme would not meet it intended purposes. It would completely be destroyed."
Dr Essel-Okyeahene further stressed the need for the government to build the technical capacity of the management of the programme.
Dr Essel-Okyeahene who was speaking about the current development of the country expressed worry about the high rate of teenage pregnancies in the rural communities and therefore appealed to the chiefs, queen mothers and other relevant traditional office holders to intervene.
Dr Essel-Okyeahene expressed the sentiments when he was speaking in an exclusive interview with some senior journalists at Kasoa in the Central Region.
He expressed worry about the teenage pregnancy situation in the country, especially in the villages, which have the highest number of cases. “Teenage pregnancy is a huge problem in the rural communities in the country, and it is affecting the society at large.
“Teenage pregnancy does not only affect the victim. It also affects the society and family at large. The narrative is different in the urban areas, but that is not to say it doesn’t exist. It does”, said by Dr. Essel - Okyeahene.
He further pleaded with nananom to play vital roles in instilling Ghanaian cultural values such as decent dressing to minimise the rising incidence of promiscuity among the youth”.
To ensure the prevention of this menace in rural communities, Dr Essel-Ojyeahene emphasized the need for all and sundry to join the forces of the stakesholders to intensify education on teenage pregnancy in the rural communities.
"It is high time Ghanaians woke up from their slumber to educate the girl child on the implications of the early age pregnancy," he stated.