POLYTECHNICS, KEY TO BETTER GHANA AGENDA - MOULD-IDDRISU (PAGE 13, MAR 17, 2011)

THE government’s desire to transform the country in line with the “Better Ghana” agenda would require the support of the country’s polytechnics, the Minister of Education, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu has observed.
According to her, one of the building blocks of a better Ghana is the availability of a competent middle level human resource to run the industries so as to increase production and reduce the country’s reliance on imported items.
She said the polytechnics were therefore expected to provide the opportunity for skills development, training and competencies in the relevant fields that would in turn provide the much needed middle level manpower needs of the nation.
Mrs Iddrisu said this in a speech read on her behalf in Tamale during the fifth congregation ceremony of the Tamale Polytechnic.
She said given the appropriate training and orientation, “the polytechnic graduate should be able to link and apply what has been learnt to the 21st century’s world of work and industry.”
The Education Minister further noted that the relevance of the polytechnics had become more pronounced following the country’s commencement of oil production.
“Discovery and drilling of oil in commercial quantities brings along with it the need for advanced petroleum engineers, laboratory technicians and many others,” she noted.
Mrs Iddrisu also mentioned job creation as another ingredient of the better Ghana, pointing out that polytechnics were expected to lead in providing self-employable skills to the youth.
“It is therefore the hope of government that polytechnic graduates would establish their own businesses and also employ others. This is the only way we can all come together to achieve our goal of a better Ghana for our children and posterity,” she mentioned.
The Minister said in recognition of the importance of polytechnics, the government, through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), had advanced some resources towards the infrastructural development of all public polytechnics in the country.
“The 10 polytechnics across the country have all witnessed massive infrastructural development through the GETFund support scheme,” she stated, pledging further support.
Aside from the improvement in infrastructure, Mrs Iddrisu made mention of efforts being made towards improving the conditions of service of polytechnic staff.
“The current Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) would attempt to correct existing anomalies that have been detected in both public and civil servants remunerations,” she mentioned.
The minister therefore urged the polytechnic staff to exercise restraint whiles the government fixes the challenges regarding the implementation of the new pay policy.
“Strikes are not effective ways of settling disagreements. At the end of every strike, all stakeholders in the education sector tend to lose. We should therefore always try to avoid them as much as possible,” she added.