Thirty three technical officers from various organizations across the country on Friday passed out of the Institute of Technical Supervision (ITS), after undergoing an intensive four months course.

They include 20 officers and 13 junior officers from 11 institutions, including the Volta River Authority, Tema Oil Refinery, Minstry of Health, Ga South Municipal Assembly, Jirapa District Assembly and Lawra District Assembly.

Speaking at the passing out ceremony, Dr. Joseph Addo Ampofo, Director of Water Research Institute, Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research, lauded the crucial role technical education plays in the socio-economic development of the country.

“Technical education provides employable skills for people from various economic, social and academic backgrounds and it is an important tool for poverty alleviation,” he said.

He lauded Government for allowing technical schools to offer core subjects such as Mathematics, English and Science and for the establishment of the Council for Technical and Vocational Training (COTVET), to oversee activities relating to technical education in the country.

He charged COTVET to ensure that anyone, who selects technical courses get the same opportunity, as those who go through general education.

“They should get the opportunity to even continue up to the doctorate level, which means that polytechnics in the country should be adequately equipped, to undertake such tasks,” he said.

Dr. Ampofo called for better remuneration for technical education supervisors so that they would be well motivated to perform better.

He urged the Ghana AIDS Commission to educate technical trainees on the avoidance of HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Jerry Akwei Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, Ga South Municipal Assembly, lauded the Institute for churning out quality technical officers, since it was established 54 years ago.

He urged Government to shift its attention from “grammar oriented education” to Technical and Vocational one to enable graduates fit into the emerging oil and gas industry.

He appealed to metropolitan, municipal and districts Assemblies to continuously sponsor their technical officers to study at the Institute.

He called on Government to commit the necessary resources into upgrading the infrastructure of the Institute, to meet its increasing demand of providing technical education in the country.

Mr. John Welbeck, Principal, ITS, cited encroachment on the Institute’s lands by private developers, noise from churches in the locality and the absence of a fence wall as some of the challenges that the Institute faced.

Some of the courses undertaken by the officers included Technical and Feasibility Studies, Workplace Improvement Techniques, Anonymity, Confidentiality and Secrecy, Appraisal procedures, Ethic, and Norms, Fire Fighting and Prevention and Job Planning and Control.**