The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Mahama has promised to make Technical and Vocational Education Training cost-free at all levels.

The former president said this is part of his party’s programme for the sector which he asserted are “comprehensive and far-reaching.”

“The free TVET programme would operate at all levels from the second cycle to tertiary.”

“To be clear, students undergoing Technical and Vocational Education at the second cycle and tertiary level will pay no fees,” the NDC leader wrote on Facebook.

According to Mahama, “only 48 TVET institutions under the Ghana Education Service benefit from the Free SHS programme.”

The remaining 240, he said, “have not been catered for, adding this is the critical gap my initiative intends to address.”

“Additionally, we intend to realign all TVET institutions and firmly place them under the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET)- an existing agency of the Ministry of Education,” Mahama wrote.

The former president said their TVET programme has been well-considered to address two challenges.

“The first is to fix the imbalance and gap that exists between top and bottom level manpower requirements, especially those with technical skills.”

“It is designed to produce a cadre of young people with cutting edge technical knowledge, which we are in need of in many sectors of our economy including the oil and gas sector.

“The second challenge our TVET programme will help address is the worsening unemployment situation by providing our young people with the requisite skills set that enables them to chart a path of self-employment instead of only relying on government for employment.”

Meanwhile, the Akufo-Addo-led government has maintained it is focused on improving technical and vocational education in Ghana.

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, speaking at the 39th edition of the Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana annual Technology and Agricultural Exhibition in Accra on Sunday, December 29, 2019 noted that the government has set itself the task of re-engineering technical and vocational education in the country to become abreast with modern trends.

“The resolve by the government of President Akufo-Addo is to make technical and vocational education a major component of our educational curriculum,” Dr. Bawumia stated.