Rwanda TVET Board (RTB) is to start implementing new long-term plans aimed at strengthening technical and vocational education and training schools.

The move is part of the institution’s plans to equip and make TVET schools more competent by equipping them with modern facilities in terms of infrastructure and highly skilled trainers.

This, according to Paul Umukunzi, the Director-General of RTB, and the plan will increase the quality of education offered in TVET and help bridge the country’s skills gap.

Under the plan, Rwanda TVET Board seeks to establish new TVET centres of excellence which will offer advanced programs in different domains and different corners of the country.

Currently, Rwanda has 365 TVET schools at basic education level, eight public polytechnics as well as nine private polytechnics at higher education level.

By the end of this fiscal year, he continued, we shall also have 8 modern TVET schools renovated as well as rehabilitated and they will be equipped with modern facilities.

RTB is also trying to add accommodation facilities to existing TVET schools to increase the comfort of students and attract more students, Umukunzi said.

Moreover, he revealed that they want to establish 21 new TVET schools as TVETs wings, the ones established close to existing Nine Years Basic Education schools across the country, so that the students in those particular areas can have access to technical and vocational education and training.

"We want to have at least one TVET school in every sector of the country. We have identified 121 sectors without any. These new schools will be established in 21 identified sectors in 21 different districts,” Umukunzi said.

Why youth should enrol in TVET schools

According to Umukunzi, technical and vocational education is the key to the country’s economic development.

The programs that TVET schools offer align with the priority economic sectors of Rwanda that include construction, energy, agriculture, hospitality, tourism, manufacturing, mining, ICT, water management and sanitation, as well as business services.

Umukunzi said before stabling a new programme, RTB consults the Private Sector Federation (PSF) to assess the skills demand in the labour market.

He said that Rwandan youth should understand that most of the jobs in the current world require a certain level of competences and skills, adding that with the right skills, they can realise their dreams.

"TVET is the right way to go for youth to acquire skills and meet the needs of the labour market at national, regional or international level. Moreover, it can help them create jobs and be self-employed,” he said.

The government strives to reach NST1 target of enrolling 60% of 9YBE graduates in TVET schools by 2024.

Currently, Umukunzi said "we are at 31.6 per cent.”

"We still need to increase the number, hence developing more skilled youth who can contribute to the economic transformation of the country.”

He urged parents to understand that the best way to educate their children is to let them join TVET schools to acquire competencies and skills hence securing jobs or creating their own.

Addressing poor quality education

According to Umukunzi, having programs that are in line with the needs of the labour market, competent trainers as well as required resources in terms of equipment, materials and consumables are the three elements that contribute to a quality TVET system.

"At RTB, we are trying to address all these elements at the same time. We are restructuring programs in TVET schools because some have been developed 7 years ago. We are revising them to make them aligned with the needs of the labour market,” he said.

"We are also increasing the capacity and competencies of our trainers by offering pedagogical and technical skills as well as developing their digital literacy. It’s because our aspiration is to use ICT in teaching and learning.”

Umukunzi said that RTB is also aspired to equip TVET schools with modern equipment and to provide the required consumables, materials and resources to increase students’ practical skills.

ICT enrolment

39 per cent of TVET schools are now equipped with smart classrooms, according to Umukunzi, though RTB’s aspirations revolve around having at least two smart classrooms at every TVET school.

He said that they are working with different stakeholders from both the public and the private sector including MTN that recently donated 200 computers.

He declared that 82 per cent of TVET schools have access to the internet, adding that RTB seeks to promote e-learning to serve students even at unusual times like lockdown.

"We are now trying to establish a strong e-learning platform. It is now under development. We want to digitize all our training content to make it accessible wherever our students and trainers are,” he said.

"More than 400 of our trainers are undergoing different capacity building programs. Now, 2500 have laptops. We are now building their digital literacy and we want them to be certified with international ICT agencies.”