Technical, Craftsmen Selection Taken to Communities to Attract Students

The Ministry of education and sports says selection for the students who will be joining the Technical institutions of learning will now be carried out at the local community levels in the different regions of the country.  

This is part of the changes made by the ministry in the placement process of the post-primary and senior five selections that kicked off on October 25-29,2021.

 

Formerly, selection and placement for all students was carried out at a central level whereby education institutions would come together for the process and allocate students depending on their performance in the previous national examinations. For example, after Primary Leaving Examinations-PLE, secondary schools, and other post-primary institutions including farm schools, skilling centers, polytechnic institutions among others meet to determine who is admitted where. 

 

Similarly, the placement for senior four leavers could attract A-level schools, Primary Teacher’s Colleges, Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health institutions, and Business, Technical Vocational Education and Training –BTVET institutions.  

According to the Commissioner Technical, Vocational Education and Training -TVET Operations and Management education ministry Loy Muhwezi, this will no longer be the procedure anymore for TVET institutions due to its continued shortcomings.

Among the key problems associated with the central selection according to Muhwezi, has been the negative attitude by the selected students’.

She indicates that students are placed to the technical institutions without their will but due to their academic performance yet many always dream to join the general education to University targeting white Collar Jobs. 

Now, Muhwezi says with the new decentralized type of selection, people have to choose between the TVET and the general education but not the usual placement based on performance.

//cue in;’’Like I will…

Cue out…access TVET’’//

Luganda 

//cue in;’’Tugamba nti ‘’//

Cue out…mukugu mubyegaali’’//

Under this arrangement learners will just be required to show interest then get admission from the nearby TVET institutions depending on their interests for specialization.

Muhwezi also says that through the TVET policy reform of 2019, they are introducing the module assessment system in order to attract students to hands-on education. She says this will be enabling both the continuing students and those who want specialized short courses to attain certificates in a flexible manner but also up grade through the same system.

//cue in;’’Because remember…

Cue out…doing what ‘’//

Muhwezi says the craftsmen and technical people need also to help the ministry to achieve its goal by improving on their general appearance and environment of work.

She explains that many of the people in the industry tend to undermine the need to appear attractive to their audience and in the long run disgust the potential TVET students.

//cue in;’’Nosanga mechanic …

Cue out…olugoye walugyawa’’//

Jalia Nasazza, the manager Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board –UBTEB says that among the new changes they want to ensure that the institutions while assessing the learners use real life materials to make real products that can be sold on the market for real skills and standards.

She explains that before this new approach, the students have been making models and breaking them after the assessment which would not help them get the real skills in return.

//cue in;’’So we are …

Cue out…pay school fees’’//

Meanwhile Muhwezi discouraged lamentations about machines and equipment to use in the institutions by advising them to develop relations with industries in neighbouring communities.

Currently the UBTEB is undergoing changes to try and implement the reforms in the TVET policy of 2019 that focuses more on the employable skills and competencies relevant to the labour market as opposed to just acquisition of educational certificates.

#############