Takoradi, Dec 02, GNA
Mr Asford Adams, the Headmaster of Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) has bemoaned the deteriorating state of the school’s infrastructure which is gradually having its toll on teaching and learning. He said bed bugs had infested the dormitories of the school, giving students sleepless nights and uncongenial atmosphere for quality academic work. Mr. Adams said this at the 106th speech and prize giving day of GSTS on the theme: The Role of Science, Technical and Vocational Education in the Development of the Nation. He said the current infrastructure could not contain the present population of the school as such students are made to stay in temporarily structures.
The dormitories have rusted blades, nets and broken louver blades, coupled with bad bath and toilet facilities, which have negative implications on the health of students. Notwithstanding the difficulties the school was facing, Mr. Adams acknowledged the support of old students, the Ministry of Education and the Regional Coordinating Council in resolving the some of the problems of the school.
Mr. Alfred Ekow Gyan, the Deputy Western Regional Minister, said education was key to growing and developing the human resource of the country, particularly technical and vocational training. Mr. Gyan tasked stakeholders to adopt new approaches in the teaching and learning of the sciences and make them interesting and appealing. He said sustaining the interest of students in the sciences would help them to bring out their full potentials in advancing the development of the country.
Mr. Enoch Cobbinah, Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, said education continued to be the catalyst for socio-economic development, an agent of change, well-being and poverty reduction, as well as an enabler of peace and progress. He said these and other factors made the government to continue to spend significant proportions of budgets on education.
He noted that Ghana still depended heavily on importation of finished goods, and continued to be at the receiving end of external scientific and technological innovations and breakthroughs. He said the GSTS had a great tradition of strong performance in science and technical education, adding, “This tradition has produced outstanding professionals, who have served the country well, and this tradition needs to be sustained by the current generation of students, Mr Cobbinah added. The Chief Director mentioned that the future competitiveness of Ghana would depend on the quality, type and numbers of skilled workers available in the country.
He said building a sustainable and prosperous country must be determined by the country’s readiness to plan, prioritize and remove all bottlenecks in the delivery of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, while focusing and investing in technical and vocational education.