The Deputy Director of Technical and Vocational Education Division of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Issac Ezeh, has said the desire to transform the economy from agricultural base to industrialization would be an illusion if politicians and policy makers did not change their mentality that technical education was for failures.
He said technical education had been the backbone of all industrial revolutions in the history of mankind and that it was unfortunate in Ghana technical education was not being given due recognition.
Mr Ezeh was speaking at the inauguration of a GHC 130,000 internet café for school children around the St. Paul's Technical Institute at the
school's compound at Kukurantumi on Tuesday.
He said if the country was to move forward, then there should be a determined effort to start with the production of spare parts of machinery
imported into the country.
Mr Ezeh challenged the students and masters of technical institutions to rise up to the occasion and venture into the creative aspect
of technical production to meet the challenge.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, called on technical students to fight for their rightful place in society by proving their worth wherever they find themselves.
He called on the GES to establish a strong linkage between technical education and industry for technical students to be more
productive and questioned why technical students of wood and joinery could not produce tooth picks for the country.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo advised the youth of Kukurantumi who would benefit from the internet facility to report anybody found to be using it for cyber fraud to the law enforcement agencies.
Dr Appiah Kubi of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, who was the consultant for the project, said the construction of the internet café was part of a six-year project being sponsored by the Arthur Waser Trust of Switzerland.
He explained that, the aim of the project was to re-equip the Institute for it to offer better facilities for students and other
technicians to upgrade themselves.
Dr Kubi said, under the first phase of the project, the electrical and carpentry and joinery departments were selected as pilot departments and new equipment were provided for the departments.
He said some teachers of the institute are in Switzerland learning how to effectively use the new equipment that had been supplied to the institute.
Dr Kubi said a centre had also been established in the school for the assembling of knockdown bicycles for sale as a way of training of students of the school.
He said some of the people trained by the centre end up becoming agents for the sale of the bicycles to raise funds for the school.
Dr Kubi said the internet project formed part of the ways of helping the students to increase their access to technology and also to raise funds towards making the institute financial self-sustaining.
Mrs Kate Agyemang-Badu, East Akim Municipal Director of Education, called on the students of the institute to take advantage of the many facilities being offered them to build a better future for themselves and the country.
Earlier in a welcoming address, the Principal of the institute, Mr Peter Edze, expressed appreciation of the management of the school to all those who contributed to enable the school to enjoy the facilities being offered them.