The St Anne’s Vocational Institute on Saturday, July 13, 2019 held its 53rd graduation ceremony at the school’s premises at Nuaso in the Lower Manya Krobo municipal in the eastern region.

The ceremony at the all-girls vocational school involving a colourful gathering of students, staff, old students, dignitaries, parents and well-wishers graced with splendid performances from the school’s dance group and school choir, passed out following a successful four-year training in vocational training in Fashion and Catering.

Based on the theme, “The need to promote vocational and technical training and vocation in the present day Ghana”, the vocational institute, graduated 21 students who had received adequate training in the selected vocational courses.

Chairperson for the occasion and human resource manager of Ibis Styles Hotel, Violetta Kumi who underscored the importance of education to a country’s economy decried the incident rising preference for white colour jobs in Ghana, a development which she regretted undermines technical vocational education in the country.

“Ghana has been faced with a serious issue for decades and this is the quest for white-colour jobs”, Madam Violetta Kumi averred. “Every senior high school graduate after school wants to enter the university to be employed to take up white colour jobs. This culminates into the general wrong impression created about our technical and vocational education and training”.

The chairperson was however optimistic that appreciating the need and essence of technical and vocational education and training would provide the required hope to address this challenge.

She noted that the relevant and employability skills provided by TVET, the reduction of unemployment rate in the country and opportunities to attract investment into the country were some of the opportunities provided by technical and vocational education and training.

Principal of the Institute, Sr. Jessie Quist who expressed concern at the apparent disinterest in vocational and technical training by students, attributed the development to ignorance of the benefits of TVET.

“A lot of youth today are running away from vocational and technical education because they do not know their benefit”, said the Principal, adding that TVET offers a myriad of opportunities and benefits.

Outlining the benefits of TVET, she was hopeful that prioritizing vocational and technical training would go a long way in building Ghana’s economy.

TVET has a lot of benefits, creates jobs and reduces unemployment. If it is given priority, it will go a long way to improve the economy of our country.

The truth is that entrepreneurship is a big solution to the unemployment predicament, outlined Sr. Jessie Quist.

While technical vocational training remains relatively more expensive than the grammar schools, the Principal nevertheless said “its reward is worth the cost”.

Meanwhile as part of efforts to provide relief for parents of students of the school, the school has taken it upon itself to provide the needed equipment by soliciting for assistance from benevolent organizations including, companies, parishes, organizations and individuals.

Though some assistance has come from this direction, she still appealed for more to facilitate the school’s activities.

She congratulated the graduands on their completion and challenged them to strive higher to pursue entrepreneurship.

With eighty students in four year groups, the Principal expressed worry over the low enrolment in the school and blamed the situation on the high cost of technical vocational education and called for governmental support for private technical vocational schools to attract more students.

On her part, guest speaker at the event and general manager of catholic schools, Mrs. Doris Ashun while enumerating the critical role played by TVET however expressed regret at the apparent marginalization of vocational and technical schools. She was worried that this has resulted in graduates of such institutions being deprived of the needed equipping required for national development.

“Vocational/technical education has been marginalized. As a result of this, graduates of these institutions are not well equipped to provide the human resources needed for the industry”, Mrs. Ashun observed, adding that the perception that Vocational/technical education is for academically weak students must be discarded.

Similar success stories chalked in soliciting for assistance for the school outlined by the school’s Principal were also re-echoed by Miss Perpetual Bansah, the outgoing senior prefect.

She said items such as gas cookers and sewing machines were acquired by the Principal during her tenure while other provisions such as six white marker boards “for neat and effective teaching and learning” for teachers and students, were also provided by the graduands.

She however appealed to benevolent organizations including old girls of the school to support the construction of a borehole project and the provision of a school bus to facilitate the transportation of students and staff.

Certificates were presented to best students in catering and fashion in the various year groups, prefects and the overall best student.

An appeal for fund was held to aid the activities of the school, a fashion and bridal parade and an exhibition of fashion of and catering products by the two departments.

The St Anne’s Vocational institute was founded in 1953 by the late Most Rev. joseph Oliver bowers, SVD.