Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRIME Minister (PM) Kassim Majaliwa has directed the National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) to strengthen supervision in supporting universities and colleges to provide quality education that meets the existing and future market demand.
Mr Majaliwa issued the directive while officiating the weeklong second Education and Vocational Training Exhibitions which are taking place at the Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma.
According to the PM, the universities and colleges have the duty to provide quality education for their graduates to become more vibrant in meeting the required standard and be able to employ themselves.
Thus, he urged vocational and technical training colleges to take advantage of the exhibitions to carry out a self-evaluation and testing which will help them meet the demands of the market.
“The Vision 2025 has stated clearly on the importance of education as a crucial component in the economic growth of the country. “Worldwide education and vocational trainings are known to be crucial components in the development of industries, social welfare and the economy, so based on this, universities and colleges should offer quality education which is in line with the demand of the market,” said Mr Majaliwa.
The PM also urged NACTE to act as an important facet in linking the vocational colleges and employers for their innovative work to be identified by the public. He pointed out that such will enable their creative work to offer solutions to the many challenges that impede the economic growth of the country.
The Premier disclosed efforts put by the government to strengthen the education sector and innovation, including putting more emphasis on science subjects from primary level to higher education.
Such initiative has led to the increase in number of vocational colleges which now stands at 430 colleges, with rise in enrolment of students from 117,478 (2015) to 172,512 students in 2020. Mr Majaliwa said the only way Tanzania and the rest of the world can tackle the unemployment challenge is through similar exhibitions which have led to identifying new innovations leading to creation of jobs.
Another one is through the government drive of industrialisation and welcoming more investors to put up industries of various capacities. As such the PM called on investors to come and invest in the country’s industrial sector.
“Tanzania is blessed with both natural and human resources who can service the industries…we call upon investors to come to Tanzania,” he said.
He called on the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to continue strengthening collaboration between the government and the private sector to boost vocational training in the country.
