Government-owned Accra Technical Training Centre (ATTC), a prominent technical / vocational co- educational training institution at Kokomlemle in Accra, has been in darkness for the past six months.
ATTC has been plunged into darkness since May this year by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for its inability to defray accumulated light bill, running into Five Hundred and Thirty Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghc530,000).
Worst still, the ECG is threatening to cut the school off the national grid.
Not even government’s failed promise of repayment; after the school authority engaged the ECG officials in dialogues, after series of frantic phone calls secured an emergency meeting could get the ECG to change its stance about disconnecting ATTC’s lights.
ATTC is a skilled training centre that offers prospective courses as: Architectural Drafting, Auto Body Repairs, Building Construction Technology, Business System Technician Course, Computer Technology, Creative Art Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Electronics Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, Mechanical Engineering Technology, amongst other, all of which need electricity to ensure effective learning.
So pathetic is the situation that students resort to learning under street lights, yet are not able to hold any practical during their studies. Since all their studies are practical with little or no theory, it means that for the past six months, there has not been any serious tutorials in the school.
The New Crusading GUIDE’s visit to the school premises yesterday in the night revealed the shocking atmosphere where students who stay in the hostel within the school campus were seen learning with torch lights; while others were seated under the street lights outside the school premises, learning.
Some of the students who spoke to us, expressed their worry; saying that “We stay in the school hostel on campus and have been paying for hostel fees which include light bill every term. But for over six months now, we have been staying in darkness. As you can see, we use torch lights and seat under the street lights outside to learn. We sometimes learn with the aid of light reflection from the auditoriums of the two churches here in the school, the Pentecost International Worship Center (PIWC) and the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC).
The churches depend on their generators, so, are not affected by the disconnection. Even, sometimes, in the mornings, we have to go to nearby houses to beg them to iron our uniforms. We don’t even understand why we should go through all these. After paying our hostel fees, we are staying in darkness.
This situation has made learning difficult and frustrating, and this is gradually affecting us academically.”
They therefore appealed to the government to urgently fulfil its obligations.
Though the school authorities refused to comment on the situation, insiders who spoke to us under strict anonymity, vented their frustrations. They said, the teachers have become redundant because when they go to school, they do nothing. They only go to sit down because they are obliged to go to school.
They are also imploring the Minister for Education, Dr. Adutwum, to intervene so as to avert the situation as part of his horned dream to see all TVET schools’ function effectively.
According to the students, some of the departmental heads have proposed to the authorities of the school for separate departmental meters from ECG, ”this means that each department can have its meter and pay for its light bill through the departmental internally- generated revenue and they will not depend on the School’s main mater.”
A phone call to the office of the authority in- charge of TVET, to ascertain what is being done about the situation hit a snag.
The Accra Technical Training Centre is a Technical / Vocational co- educational training institution established through the joint cooperation of the Governments of Ghana and Canada “to provide theoretical and practical instruction for the training of workers for the trades, business, industry, and for other occupations as may be required from time to time”.
Its main objective, therefore, has been to train skilled manpower for Ghana’s industrial requirements.
It was officially opened in July, 1966 and jointly operated by the Canadian and Ghanaian Governments until March 1972, when it was handed over to the Ghanaian Government. It is under the Technical Division of the Ghana Education Service of the Ministry of Education. There is a Principal assisted by three Vice- Principals, in charge of academic, domestic and administrative activities. In all there are 16 Elective and 6 Core Departments each headed by a course officer.
Stay tuned.
