With just a year left to the finish line, some people could be wondering whether the set targets for technical and vocational education (TVET) will be met. The plan by government is that by 2017/2018, 60 per cent of students should enroll in TVET schools, while only 40 per cent proceed with conventional education.

Under this arrangement, students with sufficient job creation skills are expected to reduce the fleet of job seekers who hit the job market year in and year out. But what was the initial strategy?

Workforce Development Authority (WDA) director-general Jerome Gasana says TVET started as an alternative to accommodate people who had educational challenges. These included students who had dropped out of school because of pregnancy and others who could not afford education because of limited finances.

"Later on, people started realising that TVET offered better skills; more joined the programme to engage in education that would enable them create own jobs right away after school,” says Gasana.

A TVET qualification framework was developed which saw more students enrolling.

In addition to enrollment, each year more than 200,000 off-farm jobs would be generated to accommodate all people looking for employment after school. 

Asked about strategies to achieve this, Gasana is fast to point out that later, TVET was integrated into other areas of education with an aim of helping people acquire more hands-on skills after school.

"Even now we have an arrangement whereby students who have finished degrees and have nothing to do can take on training in TVET in addition to their degrees or diplomas,” he adds.

Schools and students

To reach out to everyone, it required scattering TVET schools allover the country. The target for each province is to have an integrated polytechnic centre and at least three technical secondary schools in each district.

And currently there are 384 schools in the country, up from 63 schools in 2010 when TVET started receiving more focus.

Top of the districts with big number of schools is Muhanga and Kikukiro.

But in general, the number of schools has been growing over the years.

In 2010, there were 51,773 students, but the current number is 109,569 students in both government and private TVET schools.

Addressing the existing challenges

Desire Nimpano, the director in charge of planning at WDA, explains that there are still challenges affecting full scale TVET rollout that require huge investment in an estimation of Rwf169b.

"Top of our priorities is infrastructure such as classrooms, workshops, computer labs, libraries, office ware, latrines among others as well as consumables,” he explains, emphasising that consumables are very important for practical courses.

"If you are teaching students in a catering class how to prepare a certain food item, they need to have it first, they prepare it and of course do sensory analysis by tasting.”

He also points out that basing on the current progress, by 2018 more students would be enrolling for TVET as planned.

"You have to understand that the 9-Year Basic Education is also very competitive. However, our current intake is not far away from the 60 per cent. We are now standing at about 42 per cent and by 2017/2018 we shall be able to hit our target,” he explains.

Of the 383 schools in the country, 64 per cent representing 248 are private. But how do private players feel about the current progress?

Mapendo Irakiza, the dean of students at ADB Nyarutarama, the main centre for all private TVET schools (TEVSA), reiterates Nimpano’s views, maintaining that all schools need investment in more equipment.

"As a private school, government support is limited but there are partners such as GIZ who sometimes give us support in form of equipment. Within electronics. We still need more gadgets for students to perform well,” Irakiza explains.

She adds that unlike in the past when people thought TVET was education for academic failures, times have changed with many realising that the future of industrialisation lies in practical courses.

"Before, people used to take on short courses that were regarded as vocational courses. Unfortunately most of these courses dwelled on theory than practice, a system that did not help students at all, for example, a person doing mechanical engineering would think that it is just a matter of going under the vehicle.”

However, Herbert Ngabonziza, a senior six student of electrical techniques, also explains that the teaching approach requires both equipment and good teachers.

"When you have all the equipment and good trainers, it means you can finish all the practical sessions faster,” he explains.

Nimpano is also optimistic that once training of TVET trainers commences after the completion of their institute at IPRC Kikuckiro such problems will be no more.

"Teaching in TVET requires skilled people, and it is hard to employ them because of the high pay they demand.”