Accra, April 8, GNA - The Ministry of Education and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve the teaching environment at the Accra Technical Training Centre (ATTC). According to the MOU, KOICA would make available two million dollars=

between 2010 and 2011 to support the provision of modern technical equipm= ent to help in the undertaking of practical exercises of students of the ATTC= .. The MOU also binds the KOICA to dispatch a team of Korean experts to=

teach at the ATTC as well as send teachers of the ATTC to Korea for train= ing to enhance their skills to ensure efficiency.

Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education signed on behalf of his sector while Mr Cho Kyu-chan, Resident Representative of KOICA, who led a=

five-member delegation to the Ministry in Accra signed on behalf of KOICA= .. Mr Tettey-Enyo expressed government's appreciation to the Korean government for her efforts at assisting the development of the education sector of the country. "We welcome Korea's considerable investment plans targeted at improv= ing the teaching environment at the basic education level which includes the provision of classroom infrastructure, training of teachers and school management committee members, furniture and residential facilities for teachers" Mr Tettey-Enyo said.

He said Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was a=

key sector, which formed the core of government's agenda at empowering th= e youth because it had the potential to produce a significant impact in the=

lives of majority of the people. He assured that the Ministry would fulfil its commitment under the M= OU to ensure the successful implementation of the project and pledged its continued collaboration with KOICA and the Korean government to provide quality education for Ghanaians. Mr Cho said Korea had valuable know-how in technical education, whic= h ensured effective human resource development, adding that, the MOU signif= ied her preparedness to share such knowledge and experience with Ghana. He said he was convinced that the full implementation of the MOU wou= ld contribute immensely to Ghana's industrial advancement. He urged the Ministry to provide the necessary support to the Korean=

experts, who would be dispatched to the country to help in the implementation of the MOU.