Energy Commission Renewable Energy Challenge: Government urged to fund TVET students to develop renewable energy prototypes

There are heightened calls for the government to prioritise funding for students in the technical and vocational education and training sector to develop more innovative prototypes and contribute to sustainable energy solutions in Ghana.

The appeal was made during the seventh edition of the Energy Commission Renewable Energy Challenge held in the Ashanti Region.

Technical students from various senior high schools in the northern and southern part of the country showcased innovative prototypes designed to address the country’s renewable energy needs.

Head of Public Affairs at the Energy Commission and coordinator of the Renewable Energy Senior High School Challenge, George Sarpong, said inadequate funding remained a major obstacle hindering the development of students’ projects.

He called on the government and other stakeholders to provide financial support for research, prototypes development and scaling up of students’ innovations.

“Usually, the challenge has to do with funding because it is a huge project and a huge competition that brings senior high schools onto one platform to develop renewable energy solutions. The students have to raise money to conduct research and build prototypes, so we need support,” he said.

Mr. Sarpong disclosed that participating schools spend approximately GH¢35,000 to develop its prototype, underscoring the financial demands of the competition and the need for sustained investment.

At the zonal level, Ahantaman Girls’ Senior High School emerged winner of the southern zone, while Dabokpa Senior High Technical School won the northern zone competition.

The students appealed to the relevant ministries and authorities to support and scale up their innovations to make them accessible to communities, particularly rural farmers.

“We are calling on the various ministries to support and scale up our projects. With adequate funding, these innovations can be extended to farmers in rural areas, especially considering that agriculture employs more people than the government sector,” they said.

Professor Francis Kermanson of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), who was a judge for the competition, commended the students for their creativity and innovation.

He noted that their works demonstrated Ghana’s potential to advance renewable energy solutions.

However, he stressed the need to address funding challenges facing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions to enable students to develop more sophisticated prototypes.

“The challenges facing TVET schools need to be addressed to help them develop even better prototypes. I am very impressed with what I have seen so far from the technical schools,” he said.

The grand finale of the Energy Commission Renewable Energy Challenge is expected to take place in Accra, where the zonal winners will compete for the national title.