Bekir Shale, State Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labour and Skills; Margaret Mwakima, Principal Secretary State Department of Vocational and Technical Training, Ministry of Education, Republic of Kenya; and Eliamani Sedoyeka, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, United Republic of Tanzania reaffirmed their “commitment” in a communique issued at the end of the meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, Mwakima said that the TVET sector is very critical for the social-economic development of our country.
“Therefore, we need a concerted effort to ensure that our youth are equipped with skills needed for industrialisation and manufacturing.
All TVET institutions and polytechnics in the region must synergise and play their rightful role to ensure successful implementation of this communique,” she said.
Mwakima urged all countries in the Eastern African region to accept the three countries’ success and work.
As part of the World Bank-funded Eastern African Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP), the Regional Qualifications Framework is expected to facilitate regional mobility of students and skilled professionals.
In the communique, the Permanent Secretaries pledged to “mainstream the Regional TVET Qualifications Framework into national policies and qualifications frameworks, as well as in TVET education systems, and to ensure effective implementation of the Regional TVET Qualifications Framework’s conceived purposes.”
The permanent secretaries also urged other nations in the Eastern Africa region to employ Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania’s Regional TVET Qualification Framework.
Inter University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) Deputy Executive Secretary Mike Kuria praised the Permanent Secretaries for accepting the Regional TVET Qualifications Framework and urged them to make the necessary modifications to ensure its implementation.
“It is necessary to undertake policy reforms to ensure successful implementation of the Regional TVET Qualifications Framework to foster regional integration and support mobility of students and graduates in the region,” Kuria said.
“The Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Skills, which administers the TVET sector, will continue to follow up and monitor the implementation of the Regional TVET Qualifications Framework,” stated Assegid Getachew, State Minister of the Ministry of Labour and Skills.
With technical assistance from the IUCEA, the adopted framework is expected to be implemented by relevant ministries, governmental agencies and institutions.