The Workforce Development Authority (WDA) is set to revise the curricula for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The institution, on Wednesday, met with all its development partners, to discuss the way forward.

According to the WDA Director General, Albert Nsengiyumva, the move is aimed at making TVET curricula relevant with the needs of industry. Besides, revision of the curricula, WDA also intends to harmonise training programmes in TVET schools, which he said has been varying according to the various training providers.

"We have been having a situation where every TVET school has its own curricula; one school would offer six months training while another offers a one year training course. So, it is at this level that we want to harmonise all the curricula and set the standards which can be recognized even on the regional level,” Nsengiyumva told The New Times.

In the Wednesday meeting, an expert from NUFFIC, a Dutch development agency, presented a roadmap towards having a fully fledged TVET Qualification Framework, which is expected to streamline the various intervention programmes by all TVET stakeholders.

WDA is also in the process to initiate an accreditation and certification programme for all TVET schools.

Established more than a year ago, WDA is in charge of regulating, promoting and guiding the implementation of TVET system, which covers vocational schools, technical schools and polytechnics.

"In the past, there has been the supplier-driven approach which focuses on the theory which makes up 60 percent of what is taught, but we now want to make it a demand- driven and more practical-oriented one,” said Nsengiyumva.

The WDA Director General outlined the priority sectors under TVET training programmes as construction, agriculture and hospitality, and ICT, which he said is a crosscutting discipline.

It is expected that by January 2011, at least five curricula in different sectors will have been fully developed and ready to use in TVET schools.

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