What Nacte, Veta merger has in store for education

Dar es Salaam. Experts have predicted transformation in technical and vocational education that will play a key role in producing graduates who will drive forward Tanzanians’ industrialisation agenda.

Speaking to The Citizen yesterday, they said the sub-sector has long been ineffective in equipping young people to become self-employed, or employed in key areas both locally and internationally.

This follows the renaming of the National Council for Technical Education (Nacte) to the National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NactVet).

Amendment of the law that established Nacte took effect on September 28, 2021 after it was assented to by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, and since then all activities related to quality control have been put under to NactVet.

Experts said before the change, some graduates at vocational training level lacked the necessary skills because the Vocational Education and Training Authority (Veta), which operated vocational training institutions, was also in charge of quality control.

“The government saw this as interference in quality control, so it came up with this setup,” NactVet executive secretary Adolf Rutayuga said.

Before the changes, Nacte only focused on being a watchdog and quality controller for technical education and training without involving itself in vocational education.

According to Dr Rutayuga, the council has now been given the responsibility of rehabilitating, and supervising vocational training that was previously conducted under Veta.

“The purpose of this amendment is to increase efficiency in the management, length, and quality control of vocational education training in the country,” he said.

All applications for registration of vocational training centres will now be submitted to NactVet.

“The Veta curriculum will continue as it is. NactVet’s work will be to review and approve the curriculum, and issue permits , while Veta will continue with the training,” he said.

Dr Amos Mbamba of the University of Dodoma said the new arrangement would offer an alternative route to students who used to believe that there was no future without going through university.

He noted that many students who failed to get places in universities despaired, and felt lost because they believed that vocational and technical education was not as good as knowledge and expertise obtained through universities.

“There was no need to have two bodies overseeing one sub-sector. This integration is going to make mid-level education more attractive and productive,” Dr Mbamba said.

Experts say that key sectors such as construction and information and communication technology (ICT), which have a key role to play in driving industrialisation, currently lack adequate skilled manpower.

For instance, they add, the internationally recommended ratio for engineers, technicians and artisan is 1:5:25. However, in Tanzania the ratio currently stands at 1:0.2:2.6, which highlights a shortage of skilled and qualified workers in the sector.

This, on the other hand, provides plenty of opportunities for young Tanzanians who are not able to pass through advanced secondary education, or university.

Dr Maryline Mbaga from the College of Business Education said, “If one engineer needs five technicians and 25 artisans, don’t we see that we are far away from the requirements of a successful industrial economy, which requires more workers than supervisors?”

“We also believe that better coordination by NactVet is one way higher education loans can be offered to students in these institutions,” she added.