Learning for Life, Work and the Future Initial ... - Unesco-Unevoc

Page 70 Participants’ Papers Learning for Life, Work and the Future
• Grade 7, 9 and 12 leavers and dropouts
• Retrenchees and retirees
• Those who have never been to school
• Zambians with special needs.
Although the policy has since been implemented and
the Parliamentary Act is already in place, it has not
been easy to increase access for all the target groups as
indicated in the Policy document. The ones who benefit
most are the Grade 12 school-leavers, despite the
fact that many people question the wisdom of recruiting
a Grade 12 school-leaver.
The equal opportunities philosophy has been very
difficult to implement. For example, in most cases the
retirees and retrenchees only need retraining, but
special courses for them are not yet available: there are
only the structured two-year, two-and-a-half and threeyear
programmes. The same situation exists for
women and those with special needs.
As in many other countries today, it has been realised
in Zambia that training should be demand-driven. For
many years the Government TVET institutions had
been offering just full-time programmes that were developed
a number of years ago and, until recently, the
system was very rigid, with no choices available. This
situation is still prevalent in the institutions, although
the situation is likely to change under the new policy.
There are certainly not enough TVET programmes for
all those who need them. This is a big problem which
must be addressed sooner rather than later.
5. Suitability of TVET Programmes
As mentioned earlier, the 1996 policy on TVET
emphasises demand-driven training. This is important
because, for a long time, many of the programmes
were not appropriate, being completely at variance
with what was happening in industry. For example,
while Zambian industry is no longer using manual
typewriters, many of the TVET institutions are.
The importance of making TVET programmes appropriate
cannot be over-emphasised. But to achieve this,
innovative ideas like distance learning are needed so
that courses can be offered to individual students without
necessarily bringing them to a traditional classroom.
From the above, it is clear that Zambia, and indeed
many countries in Southern Africa, have had, and may
continue to experience, the problem of access to
TVET. Below are some possible solutions to this
problem.
6. Innovative Use of Facilities and Equipment
In most of the countries in the southern region, facilities
and equipment at TVET institutions are the preserve
of full-time students and, in most cases, inaccessible
to those doing short courses or pursuing private
studies. As equipment is expensive, it is not possible
for many companies or individuals to set up their own
workshops where private students can do practicals.
It is therefore important that the facilities and equipment
provided by the state are made available to all,
regardless of whether they are full-time students or not.
Even those registered as distance-learning students
should be allowed to access the equipment provided in
the TVET institutions. All that is required is proper
timetabling.
7. Equal Opportunities Policies and Practice
With the adoption of equal opportunities policies and
practice, access to TVET can be truly open-guaranteed.
It is true that many Southern African countries have
such admirable policies in place, but the difficult part
is their implementation because of lack of resources.
8. Range and Flexibility of Programmes to Suit
All Target Groups
In order to increase access to TVET there should be a
wide range of programmes on offer. These programmes
should be flexible to suit all target groups.
As is well known, TVET is the key to any industrial
revolution. If the programmes are not flexible and
demand-driven, then the objective of developing a
nation is unlikely to be achieved.
Apart from full-time and part-time programmes, workshops
and seminars, there is one additional mode of
training that must be taken seriously. I am happy to
note that during the second International Congress on
Technical and Vocational Education held in Seoul, in
the Republic of Korea in April 1999, distance learning
was one of the subjects discussed. In my view,
distance learning, as many countries have realised, can
offer a wide range of highly flexible programmes and
would definitely increase access to TVET.
I am sure that those countries that have not started
offering training using this innovative method will not
need to re-invent the wheel as a few countries in
Southern Africa have enormous experience in this
important area. We must learn from each other.
9. How the Relevance of Programmes to the Local
Economy Can Be Ensured
Relevance of training programmes to the local economy
is critical. To ensure this, all beneficiaries of
training should participate in the design, implementation
and monitoring of the programmes. There must be
room to change the contents of a particular programme
or programmes when appropriate. And both users and
teachers should be on the alert to ensure that only relevant
programmes are offered.