Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Germany Spent $6m on Afghan Vocational Edu

Germany Spent $6m on Afghan Vocational Edu

KABUL - Marking the launch of a two-day national conference on vocational education in Kabul, German Ambassador to Afghanistan Martin Jager said on Tuesday his country had invested $6 million in the sector over the past four years and would continue to assist it in future as well.

The conference on “public participation and responsibilities in technical and vocational education and training (TVET)” brought together representatives from education commissions of lower and upper houses of parliament, officials of various departments, members of associations, public and private sectors vocational institutes representatives.

The two-day event is aimed at assessing the current status of the vocational education system and floating recommendations to help develop the sector for the country’s future economic and occupational needs.

Jager said German had provided Afghanistan with $6 million in assistance between 2010 and 2014 for the development of vocational institutes.

He said the past three years saw the number of vocational training institutes in Afghanistan increasing from 62 to 250 and the strength of students from 2000 to 8000.

The German envoy said the figures showed Afghanistan had made giant strides in the area of vocational education, saying his country would continue to assist the Afghan sector, but did not go into details.

Speaking on the occasion, deputy education minister Mohammad Asif Nang thanked Germany for its valuable assistance towards developing Afghanistan’s education sector.

He said the cooperation between vocational and non-vocational educational institutes, the creation of a consultative council, empowering and decentralizing vocational institutes were the topics to be discussed during the two-day conference, the first of its kind taking place in the country.

The conference would discuss internship programmes at industries for students, assistance from foreign and local donors for the development of educational and vocational facilities and the evolution of a regional plan for the promotion of technical and professional education system.

According to Nang, more than 100,000 students were currently enrolled in 293 public sector vocational and professional training institutes and another more than 15000 in private sector. (Pajhwok)