The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has welcomed Ghana’s growing partnership with the People’s Republic of China in the area of education.

“I use this occasion to extend my warmest appreciation to President Xi Jinping for this partnership. Ghana is committed to sustaining this growing relation, cooperation and solidarity between the two countries.”  

He said it was necessary to improve the human resource of the country for socio-economic growth, particularly in the area of technical, technology and vocational education, which was pivotal to producing a skilled labour force.

President Akufo-Addo was addressing a sod-cutting ceremony for the examination unit project of the College of Technology, University of Education Winneba, Kumasi Campus.

Ghana’s educational relationship with China had been taken to a new height, especially under President Xi Jinping’s Administration, with the latter providing about 7000 educational opportunities to Ghanaian students in recent times.

This encompasses the undergraduate and post-graduate levels of education, President Akufo-Addo said, adding that such bi-lateral partnership was for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

He said his Administration would not in any way downplay the importance of technical and vocational education and training in the nation’s development agenda.

Government, he noted, was thus pushing the needed resources to strengthen such education at the second-cycle and tertiary levels and establishing linkages between academia and industry to transform the economy.

Citing the Ghana-China project being sponsored under the Eximbank China facility, the President said it would see to the upgrading and rehabilitation of infrastructure in two polytechnics, eight technical universities and over 10 technical institutes across the country.

Additionally, a number of workshops, laboratories and examination units would be constructed for the accelerated and sustainable development of technical education.

Mr Wang Shiting, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, said his country was proud to be associated with efforts at developing Ghana’s educational sector, especially in the area of technical education, to an appreciable standard.