KIGALI — Rwanda plans to upgrade its technical and vocational training to increase enrolment and bolster students’ prospects in the job market.
Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente on Thursday said the country’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system would issue degrees instead of an advanced diploma. Vocational education is a way to fight unemployment and poverty, said Ngirente, who plans on drastically increasing the number of students at the country’s technical schools.
TVET students will acquire a bachelor’s degree of technology and after that can pursue a master’s degree to enhance their skills, he added.
The government will purchase required learning materials to remove the burden on parents, said Ngirente.
He added that trainers in vocational schools will be given equal employment benefits compared to other teachers in the basic education system. The government will also introduce scholarships for students in vocational schools, he added. In 2020, nearly 100,000 students were studying at TVET schools in the country and 70 percent of graduates in 2019 were employed within six months of finishing school, official figures showed.
