About 33 public and private Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres schools yesterday received over Rwf1.3 billion.

The grant, extended by the Skills Development Project (SDP), an arm of the Work force Development Authority (WDA), was given to institutions that met a set of requirements out of close to 100 applicants that applied for funding.

The funds are meant for training including buying equipment and hiring trainers.

Wilson Mugyenzi, the SDP project manager, said the funding handed over at a function in Bugesera, was in line with WDA’s strategy of creating a competence based curriculum, from the knowledge based one.

"While selecting beneficiaries, we looked at such things as their needs, competence of the institutions, among others,” he noted. 

Professor Silas Lwakabamba, the Minister for Education, called for embracing of TVET programmes,  pointing out that it is the long term solution to unemployment.

"I see many people rushing to get university degrees, but a lot of employment opportunities lie in the TVET sector,” he said.

He said government’s emphasis on Tvet courses is in line with EDPRS2’s (second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy) target on fostering youth productivity, employment and economic development.

He affirmed government’s continued support to TVET, and called upon the beneficiaries to put the money to good use.

Ignatius T. Mugabo, the managing director of Mugold’s International LTD, a training agency in fire and risk management, whose firm was awarded Rwf68 million, commended the government for reaching out to them, and promised to exhibit transparency in expenditure.

Up to 308 institutions have been put in place to provide technical and vocational education and training in the country.

In recent years, the government has significantly increased budget funding for TVET programmes to more than Rwf50 billion annually.

Enrollment in such schools has increased over the years, from about 60,000 in 2011 to over 80,000 currently.