Govt, EU working towards infrastructure for Tvet courses

Bulolo Tvet welding and metal fabrication student Linda Damien using bench visa and hacksaw on a welding table which were funded by the EU. She is being supervised by her teacher Tom Siba. – Picture supplied

THE Government and European Union (EU) will start commissioning building infrastructures and provide teaching and learning equipment in seven Technical Vocational Education Training (Tvet) centres next month. According to the Planning and Monitoring Department, they would work with the Education Department, the national authorising officer and the European Union to commission about 60 structures in Tvet institutions. “Building infrastructures awaiting commissioning are classrooms, dormitories, teacher houses, workshops and ablution blocks,” Planning and Monitoring Department said in a statement. “Tools, equipment and machines supplied are to enhance teaching and student learning in plumbing, carpentry, auto mechanic, welding and tourism and hospitality.”
The Bulolo Tvet centre in Morobe is one of the 10 centres that have benefited from the 10th European Development fund (under the programme “human resource development project phase 2” (HRDP 2). The total grant from the EU under the HRDP 2 was about K86.8 million and covered areas of infrastructure, Tvet teacher training and supplying of tools and equipment for trade skills and providing on-the-job training for students in selected schools. K38 million of that was used for critical buildings infrastructures for these institutions such as workshops, administration buildings, teacher houses, classrooms, dormitories and ablution blocks. A further K8.9 million was made available across all these schools to fund the procurement of tools and machines for the trade courses. The building infrastructures and tools and equipment for Tvet centres such as Morata in the National Capital District, Umi, Morobe and Yawasore, East Sepik, were inaugurated by the Government and the EU in 2019 and 2020 respectively.