Rwanda TVET Board (RTB) in collaboration with Rwanda Polytechnic (RP) and development partners has launched a TVET Public awareness campaign to rebrand TVET and create a mindset shift on TVET perception among the Rwandan youth and society in general.
The 10-day campaign which is slated for February 7 – 16, 2022 countrywide, will seek to enhance the effort to meet the target for TVET to absorb 60% of all 9-year basic education graduates by 2024. The target was set by the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) in order to contribute to the transformation of Rwanda into a knowledge-based economy.
Speaking about the launched campaign, Ing. Paul Umukunzi, the Director General of RTB said: “We have organized this campaign to be conducted in the City Of Kigali and all the four Provinces, to make sure we elucidate what TVET is, our implemented activities so far, and opportunities that are found in TVET. We need this to be noteworthy. We need to help the society to change their mindset on TVET by illustrating the importance of such education for people especially young people, for the sake of the future of work.”
According to Dr. MUCYO Sylvie, Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Trainings, Institutional Development and Research in Rwanda Polytechnic (RP), some parents consider TVET as an area for less intelligent students, which is wrong. She urges education partners to join efforts to ensure such perception is uprooted from the society.
“We have to work together to be able to eradicate wrong mindset about TVET. Studying in TVET schools assures graduates a bright future in terms of labor market. So, people should know that it is easier for a TVET school graduate to find or create a job in this modern world,” Dr. Mucyo said.
Rwanda seeks to achieve TVET targets by 2024, including having at least 426 TVET schools, that is, at least one per Sector will be existing by 2024. Among other key indicators by that time, includes having 86% of TVET graduates employed within six months after graduation.
According to Claudette Irere, the Minister of State in charge of ICT and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the government of Rwanda is making every possible effort to promote TVET, as a form of education and training that is crucial to national economic transformation, towards a sustainable development.
“The government has invested well in infrastructure to make sure the quality of TVET education is well sustained. So, people should not worry about the standard of schools,” says Irere.
According to recent figures from Rwanda TVET Board, Rwanda counts 95,000 (30%) students in TVET schools countrywide. At least 65% of TVET graduates get employed within six months after graduation.
