11 Nov 2025

Government is set to comprehensively transform higher education and prioritise Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), President Advocate Duma Boko has said.

Delivering the State-Of-the-Nation (SONA) address yesterday, President Boko said such educational overhaul would be executed by adopting a STEAM-driven curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) through a new General Curriculum and Assessment Framework, which was designed to produce a globally competitive workforce.

He added that to guarantee the successful implementation of the new curriculum, which targeted all levels from early childhood to senior secondary and was set for the January 2026 academic year, government would prioritise key strategic areas, which would include teacher empowerment, infrastructure transformation and digitalisation.

Teachers, he said, would be up-skilled and re-trained to deliver the integrated STEAM approach effectively. Furthermore, he noted that government had identified TVET as a critical anchor for economic transformation and job creation.

In efforts to maximise resource utilisation and cost efficiency, President Boko acknowledged the issue of unused and under-utilised educational facilities.

To that effect, he said government was committed to implementing transformative measures where TVET students would conduct facilities maintenance.

“I am pleased to announce the construction of Maun Centre for Children and Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities has been completed and will accommodate children with profound disabilities up to 18 years of age. 

This landmark initiative forms part of our broader strategy to strengthen inclusive educational infrastructure and to ensure that every learner, regardless of ability can access quality education,” he said.

To continue improving the education sector, he said the Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education, in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, was in the process of securing a World Bank loan amounting to P1,409,715,000, earmarked to cover, amongst other things, schools’ refurbishment, strengthening teacher training and support, promoting early childhood development and supporting out-of-school children and youth.

To date, he said 12 new primary schools were currently under construction.

Furthermore, he said government continued to address shortage of classrooms, teachers’ houses and toilets under the backlog eradication programme across all local authorities. ENDS