06 Dec 2016

President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama says government has further prioritised Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to drive the economy through the provision of requisite skills.

Delivering the State-of-the-Nation Address on Monday (December 5), President Khama said associated initiatives included development of a Policy Framework for Technical and Vocational Education and Training and review of TVET curriculum to revitalise quality of training.

“To specifically reduce unemployment and shortage of skills amongst the youth, more youths are also being enrolled in various apprenticeship programmes through Madirelo Training and Testing Centre (MTTC).  These apprenticeships expose learners to real work experience that increases their employment prospects as well as skills to become self-employed,” he said.

He said the Construction Industry Trust Fund (CITF) continued to target unemployed and unskilled youth, school leavers and disadvantaged groups to enable them to acquire practical competencies in building and construction trades.

To that effect, he indicated that during 2015-16, 1 346 completed training at the Gaborone main centre of whom 1 050 secured employment in various building, construction and allied trades.

He added that another 330 completed training at the CITF Kazungula Mobile Training Unit, two thirds of whom had already secured employment.

Further, he said due to the high demand of semi-skilled and skilled artisans in the building, mining and energy sectors, additional skills training programmes are being introduced.

On basic education President Khama noted that the first phase of the conversion of two junior secondary schools at Tsabong and Mahupu, into unified schools had been completed, with the admission of a total of 480 form-four learners.

He indicated that the new Maitlamo Junior Secondary School in Maun, which opened in 2016, had admitted a total of 360 form one learners.

In line with Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP), he said government had also extended pre-primary education to an additional 107 primary schools.

That, he said had brought the total number of participating schools to 382, which cater for 16 536 learners.

Further, President Khama said government continued to upgrade internet access in schools.

“This has included the introduction of Wi-Fi and mobile devices to some schools. So far 60 schools have benefited from the provision of 50 tablets each, while 84 secondary schools now have Wi-Fi footprints. We are further assisting teachers to integrate ICT in the classroom,” he said.

Through ESP, he said progress had also been made with respect to provision of additional educational facilities in the form of teachers' houses and classrooms.

He noted that a total of 292 teachers' houses and 32 classrooms were currently being constructed, while more projects would continue to be awarded in the next financial year.

On tertiary education, President Khama said as part of ETSSP implementation at tertiary level, government was rationalising public institutions in order to increase their efficiency and effectiveness.

He indicated that a decline in government sponsored tertiary education enrolment and participation rate had been observed during the past year, down from 60 583, in 2014/15 to 56 447 in 2015/16.

That, he said was due to limited government financial resources for sponsorship.

“Given the exponential growth in demand for tertiary education, government is therefore exploring options for sustainable funding including cost sharing,” he said.

President Khama further indicated that in order to reduce graduate unemployment, government was engaging employers to identify marketable skills.

In that regard, he said specific sector plans had been developed for the agriculture, tourism, minerals, energy and water resource sectors.

Further, he said as a way to further close skills gaps, government introduced the “Target 20 000 Initiative” for the rapid up-skilling of unemployed youth.

He noted that the programme commenced in 2015/16 financial year, when 13 410 students were enrolled in 24 institutions, with course durations ranging from short term to up to three years, adding as of August 2016, 1 372 students had completed their programmes. ENDS