Challenges

The development of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the Eastern African Region faces a number of challenges. The problems range from the limited number of technical institutes available, lack of facilities and materials for training students, inadequate technical teachers or facilitators, limited number of training institutions for technical teachers, and difficulty in career progression due to negative public attitudes and perceptions of TVET. Additionally, most countries, especially those in the global South, value TVET less than university or college tertiary education, resulting in weak TVET participation from other stakeholders. The initial diagnostic of the different BEAR II countries showed the capacity weakness of TVET sectors. Considering the technical level, access to labour market information and capacity-building of TVET stakeholders need to be reinforced.

Toward a Solution

The Better Education for Africa’s Rise (BEAR II) project is a joint initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Government of the Republic of Korea. The project has been working around making TVET systems more relevant to the needs of the economy and labour market; enhancing the quality of TVET programmes and institutions; and improving the perception of TVET among young people, enterprises, and society. The project contributes to the implementation of the Education 2030 Agenda, the Continental Education Strategy for Africa, and the UNESCO Strategy for TVET, as well as addressing SDG 4.3 on equal access to affordable technical vocational and higher education.

The initiative advocates for the improvement of TVET by facilitating the information-sharing and joint working towards regional harmonization of TVET expertise in 13 countries across Eastern Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Uganda. The programme uses South-South triangular cooperation mechanisms through a series of meetings and consultations with the governments and stakeholders of the TVET sector in the beneficiary countries. Furthermore, it has resulted in international webinar training, regional studies on TVET and regional communication strategies based on diagnoses from different countries. Considering the shift towards online and distance learning modalities triggered by COVID-19, BEAR II has also included a distinct digital component in its training modules and programmes.

A harmonized regional curriculum development model study for the BEAR II countries was conducted and an international training webinar on the subject was organized on 10 March 2021. The training was attended by 47 participants representing varying TVET sectors across the region. The BEAR II team has also finalized a regional study on the development of entrepreneurship framework and training manuals and a regional study on the development of a harmonized approach to regional career guidance and counselling in the Eastern African Community. As a result of the latter, a regional communication strategy was developed based on relevant diagnoses from different countries.

The project has resulted in the training of 984 TVET teachers and 1,318 TVET stakeholders as well as the finalization of curricula, training and digitization of learning materials. Further, the project has finalized Labour Market Analyses (LMAs) and a report on labour market analyses harmonization .

Through the project’s TVET MAHE platform, completed in December 2022, East African Community countries will benefit from the regional exchange of TVET resources. This innovative South-South and triangular cooperation mechanism will provide country overviews; national and regional strategies, policies and frameworks; online training materials; TVET events and opportunities; information on MAHE objectives; and information on international and regional TVET practices.

The project has created and developed new reforms, policies and studies to be extended and scaled up in numerous sectors. It has also helped reinforce capacities of national TVET institutions, created benchmarking references, fostered national leadership, applied a sustainable response to COVID-19, ensured ownership of project results, and created multiple partnerships, all of which have contributed to the project’s sustainability and replicability.