13-Member committee inaugurated to review curriculum of HOTCATT

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC) has inaugurated a 13-member technical committee to review and update the curriculum of the Hotel, Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT).

The committee, which is chaired by the Chief Director of MoTAC, Mr John Yao Agbeko, includes representatives from MoTAC, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the Ghana Tourism Authority, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Unit, the Ghana National Cleaner Production Centre and the Ghana Tourism Federation.

The committee is also tasked to re-train instructors and establish a strategic plan to guide the institute.

Membership of committee

The sector Minister, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, who inaugurated the committee in Accra yesterday, said the members were carefully and strategically selected from relevant institutions based on their experience, competence, knowledge and technical know-how.

He said the ministry was collaborating with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns in the tourism value and supply chain.

According to him, such collaboration was crucial to the growth and transformation of the industry and its linkages with other sectors of the economy.

He expressed the hope that the outcome of the committee’s work would help restructure HOTCATT into a viable national institute.

“I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate you on having been nominated to serve on this committee. I encourage you to work hard to produce a world-class and time-tested curriculum for HOTCATT.

“As a minister, I will take interest in this assignment and ensure that the project is executed successfully,” the minister added.

Terms of reference

Among its terms of reference, the committee is mandated to coordinate and supervise the development of a sustainable tourism strategy and action plan for the institute.

It will also participate in all stakeholder consultations and validation meetings to ensure that deadlines are met in the delivery and submission of reports to the UNEP.

HOTCATT was established in 1991 by the government to train people to deliver services during the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) conference in Accra that year.

Given the importance of the tourism sector as a catalyst for the social and economic development of the country, the government decided to maintain the institute to train more people to work in the industry.

Over the years, however, the underlying objective for its establishment seems to have been eroded due to loss of focus, lack of qualified instructors, poor curriculum content, low budgetary allocation, among other reasons.