The Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu has described how important technical education, particularly the Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU) is to the government and Ghana's industrialization strategy.

Speaking in an address delivered on his behalf by Mr. Sulemana Zakariah, the Acting Director General for Commission of TVET, the Education Minister recounted that Ghana need innovators, artisans, engineers, creators, and thinkers. A rank that CCTU has officially attained.

He made this expression at the 22nd congregation ceremony of the Cape Coast Technical University over the weekend, which saw the institution graduate its first ever postgraduate students in Civil Engineering after 40 years of existence.

The Minister chanced on the opportunity to encourage management of CCTU to expand industry partnership for practical training, modernize programmes and laboratories to meet evolving industrial needs, strengthen research output in Applied Sciences and Technology and to fully align the university's development agenda with national TVET tra
Tnsformation framework.

He emphasized that CCTU stands at the heart of the country's industrialization strategy and assured government's preparedness to do its part, but will require the university's partnership and leadership to actualize the state's support the institution so desires.

Surveyor Prof. Kwamina Bamfo-Agyei, the Dean of Graduate Studies for CCTU in an interaction with Sompa TV's Eric Annan, expressed excitement over the university's effort to have its maiden Postgraduate Students graduated for the first time in the school's history after 40 years of existence.

He underscored the university's postgraduate model to be different from other traditional universities, since theirs deals more on design and the theoretical aspect, compared to that of CCTU which focuses more on the applied aspect of learning in other to equip its graduands with the skill to build and create enough things to impact the country.

Prof. Bamfo-Agyei further disclosed to be more than enough job opportunities for postgraduate civil engineers to chance on, since their skill now emerges as one of the most sort after professions and again observed the university's plans to add at least ten (10) new programmes to its postgraduate studies in the next five (5) years, which will focus on having at least two PhD programmes.

Engineer Deborah Asante-Aboagye (CPMC), the ceremony's valedictorian on her account, encouraged other female colleagues not to always be content with female dominated fields but should also challenge themselves on other male dominated fields like civil engineering with determination and hard work for they can as well make it as she has done to emerge as the overall best student among abled men.

Sompaonline.com//Eric Annan