Complementary Education Agency (CEA) in collaboration with the Ghana National Garment Markers Association in Yendi in the Northern Region is to offer free extra classes for apprentices.
The apprentices who are mostly junior and senior high school dropouts are to receive free classes in English and Mathematics to help them acquire numeracy and basic English language skills.
Formerly known as the Non-Formal Education, the Complementary Education Agency is now an Agency backed by law.
Formerly it was engaged in offering literacy classes for non-literate youth and adults in their mother tongue mostly at night to equip them with basic literacy and numeracy skills to make them functionally literate.
This time, it is mandated to among other things complement basic education, Remedial education for the JHS, occupational skills development (TVET) and functional literacy.
At a short ceremony to launch the JHS, SHS Remedial services as well as the Technical and Vocational Literacy programme for JHS and SHS dropouts and those who could not pass through the formal education, the Municipal Director of CEA, Mr Alhassan Iddrisu urged the beneficiaries, the apprentices and their masters to take keen interest in the program since it will be of great help to them in their work.
“The program is going to be free of charge and I want to urge the beneficiaries to be more interested in the program. It is going to benefit you greatly in your work in records keeping and communication with your client or customers”.
He thanked the Yendi municipal assembly for the support given to CEA.
“I want to express our sincere thanks to the MCE and his outfit for the support given us. They’ve given us office accommodation and paid the lights bill amongst others. We are grateful”.
The MCE for Yendi, Alhaji Ahmed Yussif also encouraged the beneficiaries not to downplay the opportunity given.
He said it would open more opportunities for them in their work. He pledged the assembly’s support for them by linking them to sources that could support them.
“I want to pledge the government commitment to continue to offer our support for this and what I want to encourage is the Garment Markers Association and their apprentices to take the program seriously. We could link you to other sources that could support you so please I encourage you to be serious”.
The Municipal director of education, thanked the organisers for the programme saying it is a good one that will help reduce the unemployment challenges in the country.
“This is a good program. The unemployment challenges in the country could be addressed if most of the youth take advantage of this. It will help manage their own businesses and even employ others”.
Some of the beneficiaries could not hide their joy and expressed gratitude to the organisers of the programme.
“We are very happy that this program is being instituted. It will help us a lot because sometimes if the master is not around and a client comes, some of the apprentices find it difficult to take the details of the customer. So if this comes, it will help address such challenge”.
“I am very happy. As the organisers and the MCE mentioned, they will link us with investors and other government sources that could offer assistance to us. This will help improve our business”.
On some challenges of the Agency, the Municipal director mentioned inadequate staff and thus appealed to the government to exempt the agency from the temporary ban on recruitment into the public sector.
“Our main challenge is staffing, we do not enough staff to engage in the instructions and as we all know government has this year put a temporal ban on recruitment. I will want to appeal to the government to exempt CEA from the ban and get us some staff members to help in the teaching”.