Stakeholders hold meeting on TVET financing framework

KAMPALA– The Ministry of Education and Sports through the Technical, Vocational Education and Training [TVET ] Secretariat recently held a consultative meeting of key stakeholders to gather ideas on the development of the TVET Financing Framework as part of the major reforms in the TVET Policy which seeks to put in place an efficient and sustainable TVET financing in Uganda.

The ongoing reforms in the TVET sector aim at ensuring that the quality of skills acquired by the TVET graduates is responsive to the demands of employers both in private and public sector domains.

The meeting held at Ntinda Vocational Training Institute in Kampala was attended by officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports, Federation of Uganda Employers [FUE], Uganda Manufacturers Association [UMA] Private Sector Foundation Uganda [PSFU], Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets [PPDA], the Uganda Institution of Professional Engineers [UIPE], the media, among others.

According to the new TVET Policy of 2019, there is a paradigm shift and reforms in the TVET system. The policy provides for the creation of the employers-led TVET system that emphasizes a flexible, workplace-oriented environment for training delivery, skills and competence-based training in line with the labour demands by employers rather than the general education system, which is certificates-based.

The proposed sources of financing TVET activities include: Government from Consolidated Fund, companies, loans and grants, students’ fees as well as industrial/internship training TVET fund and training levy and training providers/ institutions through income-generating projects.

A tax levy of 0.02 percent of the gross income per year on every company/enterprise or business that does not allow in-house skills training and internship.

Besides, the policy shifts TVET management from the government to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and provides for the creation of the Employer-led TVET Council of nine members, six of whom [66%] shall be employers.

The composition will be as follows;

Chairperson of the TVET Council – a reputable employer appointed by the Minister of Education and Sports, three  members [employers] representing priority sectors nominated by Sector Skills Councils, and one member representing workers nominated by Workers’ Federation.

Others are; one member representing the Ministry of Education and Sports nominated by the Permanent Secretary, one member representing the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development nominated by the Permanent Secretary, one member representing Health Private Sector Employers nominated by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Ex-officio member -Executive Director of TVET Secretariat who is also secretary to the council.

However, how employers will make TVET contributions, how it will be enforced and made possible, and what other possible sources can be considered to widen the TVET Fund contribution, remain subjects for further discussion.

According to officials, once the TVET financing framework is finalised, it will be part of the attachments to the TVET Bill that will soon be presented to parliament for debate into the TVET Act.

Recently, Joseph Kikomeko, the acting director for Higher TVET at the Education Ministry said that while Uganda has built TVET training institutions, there are not many TVET trainers in the country, which he said is limits the transfer of skills to the learners in the sector.

“We have a lot of training institutions, but the element of the trainers is still lacking,” Kikomeko said, adding that financial resources should be provided to produce more TVET trainers.

For instance, he said the original trainers in agriculture in the country learned on the job, without acquiring formal skills. “These were army corporals of World War II. They were doing the training out of their way of practice,” he was quoted as saying in the media.

Days ago, a visiting delegation of UNESCO and the Republic of Korea was in the country to evaluate Better Education for Africa II [BEAR II], a joint initiative of UNESCO and the Republic of Korea.

According to the officials, the initiative. It seeks to improve the relevance, quality, and perception of the TVET systems in Uganda, as well as other countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

https://thecooperator.news/nwsc-ubteb-ink-mou-for-skills-development/

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