Why vocational studies are the way to go for young learners
Mr Eddy Turyatemba, the assistant commissioner in-charge of vocational education and training at the Ministry of Education and Sports. PHOTO/EDDY TURYATEMBA
What you need to know:
- When Turyatemba’s parents could not raise money to take him through A-Level, he did not give up.
- He opted to pursue Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) which some did not seem to understand at the time.
- He completed a PhD in the same field and urges young people to treat the course as a priority.
Gone are the days when Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was referred to as a route for failures. With an increased rate of unemployment, the government has embarked on promoting vocational training to enable people acquire skills and be job creators rather than job seekers.
Mr Eddy Turyatemba, the assistant commissioner in-charge of vocational education and training at the Ministry of Education and Sports obtained a PhD in TVET.
After completing Senior Four with a Second Grade from Kilembe Secondary School, Kasese District, Mr Turyatemba had hopes of joining A-Level just like the rest of his classmates. However, his hopes were cut short when his parents informed him that they had no money for A -Levels and advised him to join a vocational institute.
Because of his passion to study, Mr Turyatemba joined the then Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo where he obtained a certificate in Automotive Mechanics.
Thereafter, with the aid of a government scholarship, he advanced his studies and pursued a lower and higher diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Kyambogo University respectively.
“While pursuing my higher diploma I was even a guild president. I manoeuvred to compete with those guys that had come from good schools, and I was on government sponsorship,” he recalls, adding that; “You can start small and get a scholarship from the government up to that level.”
In 2003, Mr Turyatemba then enrolled to a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Kyambogo University.
Seven years later, he joined Makerere University, Kampala to study a Master of Science in Renewable Energy, and later pursued a PhD in Engineering Technology TVET which he completed in 2023.
Inspiration
Mr Turyatemba said he opted for vocational training due to lack of tuition to enable him to join A-Level but later realised TVET was a best path to enable him to work at an early stage to support his parents.
“I wanted to work at an early stage because my parents were unable to support me for higher qualifications. So, I wanted to get something that could earn me a livelihood very fast,” Mr Turyatemba says.
He explained that later, he loved the profession and found it necessary to progress with education to the highest qualification.
Challenges
Mr Turyatemba says his biggest challenge was funding, arguing that the government sponsors fewer people from TVET than those of A-Level and universities.
He appealed to the government to increase scholarships for people in TVET to give them opportunities to progress their studies.
“Like at diploma level, when you are going for a degree, you find that out of 20 people in class, only two who have come from TVET are being sponsored by the government.
Mr Turyatemba also noted that he was undermined by his peers, because of his education background thinking he was not learned and therefore should not be with them in the same class.
“You get demoralised, but I was lucky it even motivated me at the end of the day to work hard so that I am able to compete with them and even do better than them,” he says.
He stated that there is a lot of negative thinking from peers in that if one is not focused, they will lose track and drop out of school.
He urged TVET students to be courageous, firm and focused to achieve it up to the highest level, saying it doesn’t matter the pass you use to get what you want.
“Ugandans who despise or have a negative attitude towards TVET, or technical and vocational education are really backward, because if you look at other countries, they have embraced TVET to the extent that the majority and the best performing learners choose to go TVET. This is because it is a system which will enable you to have practical or hands-on skills that will help you to get employment very quickly,” he says.
Mr Turyatemba believes young people should be guided towards specific careers, as they are more likely to be focused and skilled in their chosen field.
He argues that many businesses are struggling due to a lack of focus and commitment among employees, leading to poor product quality and limited international market because workers are not skilled.
“I can assure you that going through the TVET system has many advantages, For example, the younger people begin work at the early stage and love the job. When they love the job, they do it better, give it their all and therefore become more skilled than someone who has completed A-Level and gone to university but returns without skills,” Mr Turyatemba explains.
Lauds the government
Mr Turyatemba complements the government for its efforts to implement human capital development as a programme that will see every Ugandan who is interested in the skills and is able to get them.
He explains that such efforts will see issues of unemployment become history, adding that this can only be achieved when Ugandans defy the attitude of neglecting technical education.
Mr Turyatemba notes that TVET enrollment has increased to 20 percent per year, and now the competition has become bigger and only people who have passed well, will be given government scholarships.
“We are now taking learners with 8 in 8, in Division One for government scholarship because scholarships are limited. So, if you do not bring your child with good grades and you call us with your poor grades, we will not take them on government, “ he says.
Mr Turyatemba notes that the biggest problem affecting TVET is still the attitude as some still think TVET is a pathway for those that lack fees or for the children of the poor.
He explains that it is not about lack of money, but choosing what you want to do in your daily work or future.
Quick notes
After completing Senior Four with a Second Grade from Kilembe Secondary School, Kasese District, Mr Eddy Turyatemba had hopes of joining A-Level. However, his hopes were cut short when his parents informed him that they had no money for A -Levels and advised him to join a vocational institute.
About TVET policy
The TVET Policy supports the creation of needed employable skills and competencies relevant for the national transformational labour market as opposed to just acquisition of educational certificates.
It targets all Ugandans in need of skills for employment. The policy emphasises a flexible workplace-oriented (practical) delivery when juxtaposed with the theoretical knowledge acquisition under the current general education system and it shifts TVET management from the government led to Public- Private Partnerships (PPP) delivery.
