Mr Emmanuel Kojo Agyekum, Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development pledged an amount of GHc 50,000 towards the construction of a school building for the Community Development and Vocational Technical Institute at Kpong.

Mr Agyekum said government has allocated GHc 400,000 towards the construction of the first phase of the two-storey classrooms block, estimated at GHc 1.3 million for Vocational and Technical schools.

The Minister made this known at a fundraising ceremony for the construction of a school building and acquisition of a school bus for the Community Development and Vocational Technical Institute at Kpong, in the Eastern Region.

Mr Agyekum said it is the desire of the Ministry that the capacities of the youth are enhanced through skills training and development, adding that, the initiative to construct the building would encourage the youth to acquire value added technical and vocational skills for gainful employment.

He said Vocational and Technical education is one of the most effective human resource development strategies in the country to train the technical workforce for rapid industrialization and national development.

“Countries like Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and China have developed through rapid industrialization based on the development of technical and vocational education”, he added.

Mr Agyekum said people are of the opinion that vocational and technical education are for average students and that the total development of the nation could not be accomplished without the contribution of vocational and technical education.

He said the objective of technical and vocational training is to offer students the opportunity of employment, as well as being self-employed, and appealed to all and other organizations to assist in the construction of the school’s development projects.

Ms Akua Sena Dansua, Former Minister of Tourism pledged GHc 500 and solicited an amount of GHc 5000 from Zoomlion Company to assist in the construction of school’s infrastructural needs.

Ms Dansua said under her tenure, she instituted a special skills development programme to train young girls in vocational and technical education where 80 students of the institute’s were on full scholarship.

She encouraged all and sundry to contribute towards the needs of the school since education was the bedrock of a nation’s development.

Mrs Felicia Botchway, Principal of the institute’s said the school was established in 2002, and that, about 300 students had passed out successfully and gainfully employed.

Mrs Botchway said the institute now has a population of 320 students, made up of 80 boys and 240 girls, and that, 80 of them are on full scholarship.

She said some of the courses offered include Cookery, Dressmaking, Home Management, Hairdressing, General Electricals, Auto-Vehicle Mechanics, Building and Construction, Carpentry, Plumbing and Batik Tie and Die.

She thanked those who supported in the construction of the institute’s projects, adding that, the gesture would help meet its developmental needs and improve academic studies.

The ceremony witnessed other activities such as choreography, cultural display and the presentation of awards to some staff, as well as an exhibition of student’s creative works.