The director of fashion and cosmetology school, Abrantie College, King David Thompson, is asking the Ghana Education Service to inculcate creative arts in the basic school curricular.
According to him, the move is critical to empower children at the basic level to learn an art in addition to the regular tutelage.
“The arts industry if taken seriously and we formalize it properly, it will change the economy. There are a lot of people who need some basic tuition on cosmetology, fashion and decoration and other skills that can take them far in life.
“The creative industry is one which provides all manner of services that will never be in extinct but government gives little attention to it,” Mr. Thompson said.
He was speaking at the press launch of a Foundation and the 10th Anniversary Celebrations of the Abrantie College of Cosmetology and Creative Arts.
Abrantei College is Ghana’s foremost fashion and cosmetology school with a long and distinguished history dating back to 2007. The school started as a clinic then to a college.
The college started battling with numerous challenges, with the biggest one being funding.
“In view of the funding problem, the college after chalking some successes through the ‘rock and roll’ period it went through, decided to establish the Abrantie Invest Foundation as a way of giving back to society by offering fully-paid scholarships to some brilliant but needy students from poor homes, particularly rural areas nationwide,” he noted.
The funding of the foundation’s scholarship initiatives will be derived from the salaries of staff of the institution. The Director, per the arrangement, contributes 10% of his salary to the foundation, Managers contribute 5% each and teaching and non-teaching staff contribute 1% each of their salaries to the foundation which over the years has supported over 80 students.
Ten students have benefited from the scholarship program of the foundation. The college has trained over 6000 students in full time programs and over 2000 on short courses.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Osei Owusu Amankwaah
