VP Akol says technical vocational education critical for economic transformation

By Papa Goch Biar Mawien    

The Vice president for Service Cluster Hussein Abdelbagi Akol on Wednesday said that the government is very interested in funding technical vocational education training (TVET) to provide critical skills for youth in the country.

“TVET has previously received little attention from both government and partners in terms of programming and funding, yet we recognize that it is crucial for the economic social development of the country,” Akol said during the opening of the two-day TVET Sub-Sector Annual Review Conference in Juba at Imperial Plaza Hotel.

 He said that 70 per cent of the country’s 12.4 estimated population is under the age of 29, adding that the majority of these young people have limited chances of enrolling in school due to poverty and other challenges such as conflicts.

 Akol said that TVET becomes the solution to empower these young people who have not managed to complete school.

 “TVET will help the young people to disengage from communal violence over land and cattle,” he disclosed.

He said that they will rely on the Revised National Development Strategy (R-NDS) 2021- 2024 to invest in TVET facilities.

Akol praised the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for supporting the government to establish TVET in the country.

 Akol also called for training of teachers arguing that currently only 49 percent of the available teachers are qualified in the country.

“The problem of untrained teachers is a serious challenge, the government is committed to investing in teachers as you are aware we have already increased the salaries of all civil servants and we hope that the increment in salaries will attract qualified teachers back to schools,” he said.