Govt starts reviewing technical, vocational studies curriculum

By DAMALI MUKHAYE

The Ministry of Education is reviewing the curriculum for Technical, and Vocation Education Training (TVET) to make the syllabus driven by labour market demands.

The assistant commissioner for policy, in the Education ministry, Mr Brighton Barugahare, said they would come up with programmes that equip the students with skills needed in the labour markets.

He said some courses whose skills are no longer required by employers will be phased out.

“Curriculum and assessment is going to move from classroom to the world of work. The programmes we are going to develop are going to be demand driven. Employers are going to have a say on the skills they need and we shall teach students according to the demand by the employers,” Mr Barugahare said.

Mr Barugahare told Daily Monitor in an interview during a two- day workshop for TVET policy dissemination at UMA show ground in Kampala that ended yesterday.
According to Mr Barugahare, TVET will produce people who are ready to be employed or create their own employment.

Mr Barugahare said the process is underway and once they identify the courses that are not required, the list will be shared with all the TVET institutions across the country.
He also revealed that government has set standards for TVET trainers whom he said will be certified by the TVET council that is yet to be set by an Act of Parliament.

“Both the heads and trainers of TVET must meet the set standards because not everyone will train our students when they do not meet the required standards. Only trainers certified by the TVET council will be allowed to teach and this is going to be mandatory,” Mr Barugahare said.

He added: “The trainer to be recruited in TVET institutions must be assessed thoroughly to determine their competence to offer training by considering possession of practical competences, attitude and theoretical knowledge in line with the approved competences profiles.”

The Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary, Mr Alex Kakooza, said President Museveni in 2012 launched the Skilling Uganda Strategy that called for a change in the way the ministry was conducting training.

He said the strategy, however, could not be implemented because there was no policy to support the reforms in TVET. He said with the TVET policy in place, reforms are inevitable and they are ready for implementation.

Mr Kakooza said the requirements for recruiting students to TVET institutions is also going to change. He said whereas the current process only calls for recruitment of student with O-level certificates into TVET, recruitment will now be based on both certificates and experience, a person has acquired at work.

“There are many youths at Katwe who are good at welding but they cannot enroll for TVET to get upgraded and attain qualifications because they do not have any O-level certificate. We are now going to pick them up, train them based on their experience and give them certificates,’” Mr Kakooza said.

The Commissioner TVET, Dr Safina Kisu Musene, said they have completed all the consultations with the key stakeholders towards the development of this policy and the principals will be tabled before Cabinet and if approved, it will be taken to Parliament to become a Bill.

She said that all Institutions both government and private must comply with the new reforms.
TVET policy will replace the current Business, Technical and Vocational Education Training (BTVET) Act 2008.

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