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Negative mindset and lack of teachers, materials ail technical training colleges

Friday December 12 2014

A negative mindset, acute shortage of qualified teachers and insufficient access to equipment are undermining efforts to promote technical skills development which is critical to addressing unemployment across the country.

This follows the rollout of the technical, vocational and educational training (TVET) five years ago by the government. Under TVET, the government seeks to enrol 60 per cent of eligible students in the system by 2017.

These issues were highlighted recently prior to the joint sitting of the lower and the upper chambers of parliament. The legislators cited negative mindset by parents who resisted sending their children to TVET schools, language barriers and insufficient materials as key issues hampering the programme.

According to Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi, the government will need to revise its advocacy strategy so as to change the mindset of parents and children not willing to join TVET. The Member of Parliament said the new strategy should also include encouraging the private sector to hire TVET graduates, he said.

“We are telling the government to consider job categories meant specifically for TVET graduates,” Mr Gatabazi said while rooting for incentives to facilitate the private sector to hire TVET graduates, in particular the ongoing construction projects.

So far, TVET programmes include construction, carpentry, electricity, plumbing, engineering, information and information and communication technology (ICT), beautification and mining.

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Veneranda Nyirahirwa, a member of the parliamentary standing committee in charge of education, technology, culture and youth, observed that TVET students are also frustrated by having to travel long distances to attend classes. This is in addition to limited access to boarding facilities.

Ms Nyirahirwa added that the mindset change will only take place if people have tangible benefits from the training.

However, Prime Minister Anastaze Murekezi emphasised the need for a mindset change, particularly to convince parents and children to enrol for TVET since many people still believe the programmes are not for blue colour job aspirants.

To address the issues, the government seeks to increase its budget by 18 per cent in the next three years, heavily engage the private sector and supply more equipment to support around 400 schools countrywide.

“Each and every year, the government will keep increasing the budget for TVET and the number of TVET schools in districts, especially where there is a small number of those schools,” Mr Murekezi told the joint parliamentary session.

In response to MPs’ concerns, the premier added that the government is telling employers, mostly industrialists, to give priority to holders of A1, the equivalent of a diploma, when recruiting.

“We should look in the direction of abilities to perform, not assume that because a job applicant has a certain education level they are judged as able to compete for a position,” he said.

Since 2011, the government has increased its spending on TVET to Rwf47.8 billion from Rwf18.9 billion, with a big chunk of this money spent on school materials and training of specialised teachers.

In addition, the Workforce Development Authority (WDA), the government institution charged with promoting skills development, recently received an 18-million-euro grant from German Financial Co-operation (GIZ) and the German Development Bank (KFW) to finance ongoing TVET programmes.

READ: Rwf15bn boost for technical training colleges

WDA director-general Jerome Gasana said more resources are needed to help schools acquire more laboratories and other materials and equipment.