• Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo (with hand raised), Greater Accra Regional Minister, and Mr George Nii Togbor Provencal (right), Principal of Tema Technical Institute and other stakeholders admiring the inscriptions on the newly constructed security gate.

Tema Tech in need of assistance

Dec - 29 - 2014 , 00:27

The Principal of the Tema Technical Institute, Mr George Nii Togbor Provencal, has urged government and civil society organisations to help equip the school with modern gadgets and facilities to aid it in training the students.

Mr Provencal made the call at the 50th anniversary celebration of the school in Tema. The event was on the theme, "50 Years of Training for Industry — The Role of Tema Technical Institute in the 21st Century and Beyond".

He said the theme related to the institute’s long held position as the best Technical Institute in Ghana and beyond. He said this achievement had been built on well-motivated teachers and appropriate technology that met the needs of industry.

However, he said prevailing conditions such as the lack of modern technological equipment and infrastructure for training students had left many unemployed.

Mr Provencal said the situation had caused a decline in the intake and patronage of the post senior high school programmes namely; General Photography, Advance Tailoring and Advance and Textiles Technician courses. He said several interventions put in place could not salvage the downward trend. He observed that under the circumstances, management had been compelled to close down the textiles department.

"The Textiles Department is now a museum. Interest in the programme has waned and it is now defunct," he added.

In addition, he said, furniture in the institute was in a deplorable state. He said two classrooms built by philanthropists for the school were without tables and chairs.

According to the principal, despite the challenges the school faced, it was still able to chalk up some successes.

He mentioned that in 2009, the institute, in collaboration with the Council for Technical and Vocation Education Training (COTVET), trained some master craftsmen from selected garment, construction and electronics companies in a skills upgrade programme.

He expressed his appreciation to the Managing Director of Sentuo Steel Limited, the Local Fujian Chinese Association and the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) for funding and constructing the institute's wall and security gate.

He also expressed his gratitude to the Japanese, Russian and Austrian governments for contributing to renovation works in the school.