THE Student Union of Namibia said they plan to reform Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres as they are currently the dumping ground for ‘poor’ students.
During a press conference held in Windhoek yesterday, the Student Union of Namibia (Sun)’s secretary general, Bernhard Kavau, said the vocational training sector is misplaced and does not function well in terms of its programmes and the curriculum on offer.
Kavau added that the current curriculum trains young people on installation, bricklaying, plastering, welding, plumbing, woodwork, electrical installation and office administration courses.
“Our position is that well-functioning TVET systems are best placed to train the skilled workforce which Namibia needs to address its socio-economic development challenges. Our TVET must develop curriculums aimed at training people with skills which speak to the need of our economy,” he said.
The student union said they wish to have the TVET courses training Namibians on how to manufacture, assemble, process and invent materials, equipment and products which will help in reducing import levels.
Kavau said adequately trained workers are in short supply in the agro-processing sectors, while Namibia also needs highly skilled technical personnel to drive the agenda of transforming the economy through value-addition to primary commodities and natural resources.
“Our country needs skilled workers, in particular, competent artisans and technicians are needed to fill skills gaps in various sectors of our economy, including the building and construction industry, power and energy plants, water distribution and sanitation systems and large public works,” he said.
The union further noted that they are disappointed in the Namibia Training Authority (NTA), as it was supposed to contribute to the establishment of an effective and sustainable system of skills formation aligned with the needs of the labour market.
Kavau said they plan on meeting with the training authority to submit their proposals on how to reform the institutions.
The Namibian reported last year that non-artisan courses, such as office administration and Introduction to computers continue to attract the majority of entries at vocational training centres. This is in spite of the government’s efforts to advance technical skills training in the country’s quest for industrialisation. Out of the 729 students who graduated from the Windhoek Vocational Training Centre in August, the institution’s office administration programme had the highest number of graduates, with 138 students being awarded certificates.
At the time, higher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi said the reason students apply to TVET institutions for soft trade courses is because the number of pupils who graduate from secondary school is often so high that there are not enough opportunities at public and private tertiary institutions to accommodate everyone.
She said the country still faces the problem of graduates who have a lot of theoretical knowledge, but no practical know-how in their fields of study.
The student union, which refers to its members as “politically free”, was formed in September last year as a breakaway group from the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso). Kavau said they have 15 000 students on record who are registered with them, with close to 3 000 who are at vocational institutions.
The union became the first to challenge Nanso – an organisation which was set up in 1984 – as a non-racial, democratic and independent students’ body.
