A deputy Minister of Education in charge of Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Mrs. Gifty Twum-Ampofo has revealed that students placed under the National Vocational and Training Institutes across the country (NVTIs) will enjoy fee-free second-cycle education beginning September 2021.

NVTIs are currently under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, making it very difficult for them to be classified as second-cycle institutions to enable them qualify to also enjoy fee-free education under the Free SHS policy.

To enable them be placed under the second-cycle institutions which include technical vocational schools, to qualify for students placement under the Free SHS policy, they have to be re-aligned to the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service.

Interacting with GHOne TV on the sidelines of the launch of the skills gap analysis and audit report in Accra, Wednesday, Hon. Mrs. Twum-Ampofo said, the government is working assiduously to ensure the re-alignment of all skill training institutions and technical vocational education and training and brought under the supervision of the Ministry of Education.

To achieve this feat, she said the Ministry of Education has sent two bills to Parliament namely; Education Regulators Bill and Pre-Tertiary Bill.

“It is only second-cycle institutions under the Ghana Education Service (GES) that benefit from the Free SHS policy which include our technical and vocational schools under the Ghana Education Service. This Pre-Tertiary Bill is ensuring that the re-alignment of all the skill training institutions and TVET centers are re-aligned and brought under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. There has been one institution of training or the other. You will bear with me that all these institutions do not have the mandate for training and teaching and for that reason, their budgetary allocations are woefully inadequate. For that reason, are bringing all these institutions under the Ministry of Education and we can only do that with the Bill”, she noted.

She added, “when that Bill goes through, then NVTI will move from the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to Ministry of Education where all those who attend these institutions after JHS, will also benefit free SHS”.

According to her, the government has already procured a loan facility to renovate existing infrastructure facilities and to add about 75% new facilities together with equipment, training of teachers, provision of vehicles for the management and that of the students “to ensure that by September next year, when we are doing placement, we are going to place students in those NVTIs to also enjoy free SHS”.