Students of agric colleges urged to seek self-employment
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Fifi Fiave Kwetey, has explained that the government’s inability to absorb students of colleges of agriculture in the country into the public work sector is due to huge wage bills in the public sector.
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Mr Kwetey made this known in a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Director of Human Resource at the ministry, Mr Richard Anobil, at the 34th Annual Games, Conferences and Exhibition of Agric College Students Union (ACSU) held at Ejura in the Ejura Sekyedumase Municipality in the Ashanti Region. The theme for the occasion was: “Empowering Agriculture Graduates for greater opportunities, Job creation and Self-Employment.”
He said, for instance, that there had been a change in policy direction with regard to the absorption of graduates from agricultural colleges into the Ministry of Agriculture.
He said the focus of the colleges of agriculture which over time had been to train students of agriculture for full employment in the ministry had worked well in the past as it ensured continuous supply of agricultural officers.
“But what pertains now is for graduates from the colleges of agriculture to enter the open job market and compete for job opportunities,” he said.
In view of this development, he said, the colleges of agriculture had incorporated entrepreneurial skills training into the schools’ curriculum as a means of preparing their students adequately for self-employment.
He said if graduates of these schools were able to establish their own productive enterprises, they would not only be assured of lifelong employment but in a way would also encourage other youth to initiate their own businesses.
Government interventions
Mr Kwetey said in support of getting students to be self-employed, the government launched a GH¢10 million Youth Enterprise Support (YES) programme in September 2014, to provide financial and technical support for entrepreneurs with business ideas and capable of creating jobs for at least five people.
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He said the government had also received funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB) meant for the phase two of the Rural Enterprise Project, which is targeted at improving the rural micro and small-scale businesses in rural areas.
In addition, he said, the ministry had strengthened farm institutes to enable them to develop training modules to meet the needs of agribusinesses.
Principal of Ejura College of Agriculture
The Principal of the Ejura College of Agriculture, Rev. Benjamin Mensah, said the college was seeking accreditation to enable it to offer Diploma in General Agriculture.
He said the college had over the years made significant contribution towards modernisation of the country’s agriculture.
The President of the Agriculture College Students Union (ACSU), Mr Mandela Fofie, said the union urged the government to devise other means of getting jobs for graduates from the colleges of agriculture.
He further entreated the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to upgrade the certificates students received at the end of their education to the level of a Diploma and also grant a two-year top-up duration to students who decide to further their education in the university instead of the current three-year period.
He urged the government to ensure timely payment of allowances due trainee students to enable them to pay their fees and also fend for themselves in school. He expressed concern over the non-payment of allowances due second year students for the 2014/2015 academic year.