Create your own jobs and stop depending on government – Dep. Minister of Education

• Posted on December 30, 2013
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa DEPUTY MINISTER of Education, Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, has tasked graduates of polytechnic institutions across the country to consider creating their own jobs and stop depending on government for employment and survival.

The deputy minister, who was himself given a deputy ministerial appointment barely two years after he graduated from the university, tasked poly graduates, and by extension all graduates from tertiary institutions, to explore self-employment as an option, stating emphatically that the government and the private sector could not absorb the increasing number of graduates in the job market.

‘As you are aware, the public sector cannot employ all of you, likewise the private sector,’ Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa stated matter-of-factly during the 9th congregation ceremony of the Kumasi Polytechnic.

The deputy minister added that ‘self employment is therefore a crucial alternative to pursue,’ noting that graduates who would consider self-employment would stand a great chance of making it big in life after school.

Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa’s statement stirred unease among tertiary students and critics, particularly because a few years ago, when he was the mouthpiece of the Atta Mills Administration, he stated that the government had created over 1.6 million jobs in less than two years into its administration.

His job creation faux pas generated widespread disbelief and was challenged to produce evidence of the jobs created; but he was unable to do so.

At the Kumasi Poly event, the deputy minister commended the school for coming out with the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (IEED) and the Business Incubation Unit (BIU) to impart critical skills of entrepreneurship in students.

He also showered praises on two graduates of the Kumasi Polytechnic, Mustapha Murphy Mubarak and Abdul Rasheed, who after leaving school, set up a firm which delivers affordable breakfast to institutions.

The deputy minister admonished the graduates to take a cue from these visionary young men by also exploring self employment as an alternative, reminding them that the private and public sectors could not accommodate them all.

The colourful ceremony, which was held at the Great Hall of the Kumasi Polytechnic, was attended by dignitaries including Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister Samuel Yaw Adusei and Oheneba Adusei Poku, the Akyempimhene, who represented Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene.

Mr Okudzeto-Ablakwa charged the graduates to become active participants in the building of a better Ghana, stressing on the need for the fresh graduates to be dedicated to the ‘ideal of progress’.

He concluded by saying he had no doubt that the fresh graduates would add up to the population of skilled manpower that the country needed for its socio-economic development.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi