Africa-Press – Tanzania. CHINA’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, lauded a statesman of vision President John Magufuli for spearheading key socio-economic reforms, crucially human capital investment.
Mr Wang made the remarks shortly after arriving in the country yesterday for a twoday official visit, as he graced the launching of Chato District Vocational Training Centre in Geita Region.
In his brief address, Mr Wang, who landed at the new Geita Airport and his delegation a few minutes past 17:00hrs, described his host Dr Magufuli as a visionary statesman, who recognizes the pivotal role of education in realising Tanzania’s development vision.
Minister Wang told the audience that he was impressed by Tanzania’s initiatives to create more skilled workers, saying the move was crucial for the country’s industrialisation drive.
“A country, if it has to develop needs professional talent, Tanzania to achieve industrialisation we need a big number of skillful youth,” Mr Wang said.
“President Magufuli is a statesman of vision, he has built so many vocational training centres across Tanzania,” he stated and donated around 350m/- for the training centre, while pledging further support whenever asked to.
He insisted on the cordial and long-standing friendship between the two nations.
“China and Tanzania are the best friends in this world… It is such great pleasure to join Tanzanian friends to inaugurate Chato District Vocational Training,” the Chinese minister eulogised.
At the new Geita Airport, Minister Wang was welcomed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Joyce Ndalichako and Minister for Energy Medard Kalemani who is also Chato legislator.
Earlier, Minister Ndalichako said that the government is committed to strengthening vocational training, saying so far Tanzania has a total of 41 colleges while 29 more are currently being built.
The aim, she said is to have at least one college in each district countrywide. China, the World’s second largest economy is making headway in creating skilled labour.
The Far East country moved to reform its vocational education landscape to help ease a shortage of skilled workers and upgrade its manufacturing sector, according to a reform plan released recently by the State Council.
To create more skilled workers, the plan aims to transform a slew of academic universities by 2022 into vocational education schools in which students can acquire both a bachelor’s degree and a number of occupational skills certificates.
That represents a drastic change for vocational college attendees, who have been able to qualify only for a diploma for middle or high vocational education.
The diplomas were usually considered less valuable than a bachelor’s degree, and parents were reluctant to send their children to such colleges
