SCIENCE, TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL

Science secondary schools, technical colleges and vocational centres

Forty institutions under the Science and Technical Schools Board: 18 science secondary schools, 14 government technical colleges and 8 vocational and skills-acquisition centres, holding about 38,400 students between them.

Three kinds of institution, one board

The Science and Technical Schools Board runs the part of the school system that is built around a laboratory or a workshop. It has been doing so since 1978, and it is the smallest of the boards by school count and one of the most closely watched, because what it produces is what the State's workshops, construction sites, clinics and power installations are staffed with.

A science secondary school teaches the ordinary senior secondary curriculum with the science stream taken seriously — properly equipped laboratories, a longer practical timetable, boarding as standard and a selective intake from the top of the Qualifying Examination list. Its leavers sit WASSCE and NECO like any other senior secondary student.

A technical college is a different thing. It runs a three-year trade programme — Trade 1, Trade 2 and Trade 3 — in which roughly 60 per cent of the timetable is workshop practice and the rest is the general education a tradesman needs. It leads to the National Technical Certificate, awarded through the National Business and Technical Examinations Board, and to the State Trade Test. A vocational centre runs the same trades in short programmes of three to twelve months, for young people and adults who need a skill rather than a certificate cycle.

The technical estate

Institutions

18 science · 14 technical · 8 vocational

38,400

Students enrolled

26,400 boys · 12,000 girls

8,400

Trade Test candidates

Across 22 accredited centres

2,100

Instructors and teachers

Including 640 trade instructors

The trades taught

Every technical college runs at least four of these; the vocational centres run them as short courses. The trade a college can offer depends on the workshop it has and the instructors it holds, and the school finder shows which college runs what.

Automobile mechanics

NTC · Trade Test I–III

Engine systems, transmission, braking, diagnostics and workshop practice, with a bay of working engines for stripping and rebuilding.

Electrical installation

NTC · Trade Test I–III

Domestic and industrial wiring, distribution boards, earthing, testing and the wiring regulations, on live boards under supervision.

Welding and fabrication

NTC · Trade Test I–III

Arc, gas and inert-gas welding, sheet metal work, structural fabrication, and the inspection of a finished weld.

Block-laying and concreting

NTC · Trade Test I–III

Setting out, block work, reinforcement, formwork, concrete mixes and finishes, taught on a live building project on the college site.

Plumbing and pipe fitting

NTC · Trade Test I–III

Cold and hot water systems, drainage, sanitary appliances, pipe threading and jointing, and borehole and tank installation.

Carpentry and joinery

NTC · Trade Test I–III

Hand and machine woodwork, joints, roof carpentry, doors and windows, furniture making and timber finishing.

Catering and craft practice

NTC · short course

Food preparation, quantity cooking, nutrition, food hygiene and the costing of a catering job. A strong route into self-employment.

Fashion design and garment making

NTC · short course

Pattern drafting, cutting, machining, finishing and the running of a small tailoring business. The largest single trade by female enrolment.

Computer craft practice

NTC · short course

Hardware maintenance, networking, operating systems, office applications and the repair of a personal computer or a handset.

Solar installation and maintenance

Short course

Panel sizing, mounting, charge controllers, batteries, inverters and fault-finding. Added in 2021 and now the fastest-growing programme.

How to get a place

A science secondary school and a technical college both admit from the Qualifying Examination taken at the end of JSS 3. A vocational centre admits directly.

Indicate the technical route on the Qualifying Examination form

The form asks whether the candidate wishes to be considered for a science secondary school or a technical college. A candidate who does not tick it will not be considered, however good the score.

Sit the Qualifying Examination in the first week of July

Five papers. Science secondary schools and technical colleges select first, from the top of the list, before general senior secondary placement is run.

Sit the practical aptitude test for a technical college

Technical college candidates take a short practical aptitude test at the college in the second week of July — spatial reasoning, hand skill and a colour-vision check for the electrical trades. It is not an academic paper and it cannot be revised for.

Report with the placement slip and the medical form

Take the placement slip, the BECE result, proof of age, four passport photographs and the completed medical form. Boarding is standard in a science secondary school and common in a technical college.

Choose a trade in the first fortnight of Trade 1

The college assigns trades on the aptitude test, the candidate's preference and the number of workshop places available. A trade may be changed once, within the first term.

For a vocational centre, apply directly at any time

Vocational centres run short programmes with rolling intakes. There is no entry examination and no minimum certificate requirement — only an age minimum of fifteen. Apply at the centre or through the education office of your local government area.

Certificates and what they lead to

Award	Where it is taken	Length	Awarded by	What it opens
National Technical Certificate	Government technical college, Trade 3	Three years	National Business and Technical Examinations Board	Employment as a craftsman; entry to a polytechnic National Diploma; the Advanced National Technical Certificate.
State Trade Test Grade III	Technical college or vocational centre	Assessed at the end of the programme	Science and Technical Schools Board	Recognition as a qualified tradesman for State and contractor employment.
State Trade Test Grade II	By assessment, after Grade III	Two years of practice	Science and Technical Schools Board	Supervisory trade work; a step towards Grade I.
State Trade Test Grade I	By assessment, after Grade II	Two further years of practice	Science and Technical Schools Board	Master tradesman; eligible to take on apprentices under the Board's scheme.
WASSCE / NECO	Science secondary school, SS 3	Three years	WAEC and NECO	University and polytechnic admission on the ordinary five-credit standard.
Vocational Centre Certificate	Vocational and skills-acquisition centre	Three to twelve months	Science and Technical Schools Board	A trade, a starter tool kit, and referral to the apprenticeship placement scheme.

Workshops, equipment and safety

A technical college is only as good as its workshop. The Board inspects every workshop twice a year against a schedule that covers the machinery in working order, the consumables in stock, the ratio of students to working stations, the extraction and lighting, and the safety provision. A workshop that fails is taken out of use for that trade until it is put right, and the students are attached to a neighbouring college in the meantime.

Safety is not optional and it is examined. Every student is issued an overall, safety boots, goggles and gloves as part of the uniform, and no student enters a workshop without them. Machine guards, an accident book, a first-aid box and a serviced extinguisher at each bay are inspection items, and an instructor who runs a session without them is reported to the Board.

Two workshop inspections a year against a published schedule.
Overall, safety boots, goggles and gloves issued to every student.
Maximum of two students to a working station in the practical period.
Laboratory and workshop refits are funded through the STEM programme and the Education Development Support Board.

After the certificate: apprenticeship placement

A certificate on its own does not make a tradesman. The Board runs a placement scheme that puts leavers with employers who will finish the training on real work.

Twelve months of supervised placement with a registered employer, arranged by the college.
A monthly stipend paid to the apprentice for the placement year.
A logbook signed by the employer, which the Board assesses for the Trade Test.
A starter tool kit issued on completion of the placement, by trade.
Referral to the State's small business support window for those setting up on their own.
Master tradesmen at Trade Test Grade I may take on apprentices under the same scheme.

Questions asked about technical education

Is a technical college a step down from a senior secondary school?

No, it is a different route to a different thing. A technical college leaver holds a trade and a National Technical Certificate that a polytechnic will accept for a National Diploma. A senior secondary leaver holds a general certificate. Both routes reach a polytechnic or a university; the technical route reaches paid work sooner.

Do girls take technical trades?

Yes, and the number is rising, though it remains low — about 12,000 of the 38,400 students. Fashion design, catering and computer craft have strong female enrolment; the construction and automotive trades much less. Two of the technical colleges now run female-only workshop groups, and the girl-child programme funds boarding for girls placed away from home.

What does it cost?

Tuition is free. A technical college charges the approved ceilings for the parent–teacher association levy, the laboratory and workshop charge, trade materials and consumables, and the uniform with overall and safety boots. Boarding is charged only to boarders. A vocational centre short course is free, including the tool kit.

Can an adult enrol?

In a vocational centre, yes — the only requirement is an age of fifteen or over. A technical college takes its intake from JSS 3 leavers, but the Board runs evening trade classes at several colleges for adults preparing for a Trade Test.

What is the difference between the National Technical Certificate and a Trade Test?

The National Technical Certificate is an academic and practical award taken at the end of a three-year college programme. A Trade Test is a practical competence assessment that can be taken by anyone working in the trade, at three grades, and is what most employers actually ask for.

How do I get into a science secondary school?

Through the Qualifying Examination at the end of JSS 3, with the science secondary option indicated on the entry form. The eighteen schools take their intake from the top of the list, so the score needed is high. Boarding is standard and is charged at the approved ceiling.

A trade, a certificate and a placement

Find a technical college or vocational centre near you, or read how the Qualifying Examination places candidates into the technical intake.

Find a technical college The Qualifying Examination STEM and digital learning