DRAFT TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND ...

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During the past four decades, the urban population has grown rapidly from 23% of the total in
1960 to 43.61% of the 2000 population (Ghana Statistical Services, 2005). This rural-urban
drift is not only putting pressure on education and other social services in urban areas but is
also creating an urban unemployment crisis that is difficult to contain through skill training
and job creation.
The structure of Ghana’s economy has not changed much since the country attained
independence in 1957. The country still depends on the export of primary commodities such
as cocoa, gold, diamonds, manganese, and wood products. Some impressive gains have been
made in the non-traditional export sector which again consists mainly of handicrafts and
unprocessed food items such as pineapples, mangoes, yam, pepper, and bananas. Per capita
GDP increased from US$271 .4 in 2001 to an estimated US$492.4 in 2005 (Ghana Statistical
Service, 2007). As would be expected, there are gender, regional, and rural-urban disparities
in incomes and other socio-economic indicators.
Ghana is committed to the achievement of the MDGs and aims to attain a middle-income
status by the year 2015. Of particular interest to the Schokland Programme is the use of
TVET to achieve MDGs #1, 3, and 8, which are poverty reduction, gender equality and
empowerment of women, and the development of a global partnership for development.
The next two major divisions of this report review the TVET sector and labour markets
respectively, each ending with emergent issues. Subsequently, the reviews draws lessons
from previous interventions, best practices, and makes recommendations for the way forward.
2.0 THE TVET SECTOR IN GHANA
The provision of TVET cuts across several government ministries with the Ministry of
Education, Science and Sports (MoESS) and the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and
Employment (MoMYE) being the dominant providers. The main delivery institutions are the
informal apprenticeship system, public and private vocational training institutes, and public
technical institutes, and the polytechnics. Ghana has an extensive informal apprenticeship
system that absorbs a large number of young people who are not able to continue schooling
after basic education. The major areas covered by informal apprenticeship include autobody
works, motor vehicle mechanics, masonry, carpentry and joinery, dressmaking, hairdressing,
refrigeration and air-conditioning, tailoring, and weaving (e.g. Kente weaving). There is no
national control over, supervision of, or mechanism for capturing data on the informal
apprenticeship system. Until the New (National) Apprenticeship Programme is launched no
reliable data can be provided on enrolment in informal apprenticeship, yet we know that it is
the largest supplier of skill training in Ghana. Data on enrolment in TVET is limited to
formal TVET, and even then, no comprehensive data is available on private TVET.
2.1 Facts and Figures: Enrolment in TVET
Three categories of facts and figures are presented to give a brief view of TVET in Ghana
focusing on: (a) enrolments, (b) gender parity, (d) special needs education, and (d)
expenditure on education in general and TVET in particular.
To put enrolment in TVET in a proper perspective, it is desirable to begin with an overview
of enrolment in formal education institutions which lay the foundation for formal TVET
provision. Table 1 gives an overview of enrolment at various level of education in Ghana.
Enrolment in TVET in the Ghana context applies only to the formal TVET system which
consists of public and private registered institutions. Some private TVET institutions register
with NVTI, others with the Ghana Education Service and still others with NACVET. These