Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) programs and institutions are playing significant role in agricultural development and economic growth of the country. Ethiopia introduced a wide range of socioeconomic development strategies, programs and practices since 1991.
As a result, for the past two decades, the government of Ethiopia has demonstrated a strong commitment to the development of the agriculture sector. As a vital component of the general TVET program, ATVET’s strategy targets to immensely contribute to the national mission of ‘Creating a modern and highly productive agricultural system that uses a more advanced technology which enables the society to get rid of poverty.’
Recently, Federal Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Agency in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and development partners has prepared and launched a national ‘specialty curriculum’ and assessment packages on dairy, horticulture and poultry production sectors.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald Habtamu Kibret, Deputy Director General for the Agency said that the launched national curriculum is paramount importance for scaling up TVETs’ quality training provision. As to him, it also helps students to acquire basic knowledge and training.
Furthermore, the curriculum and assessment package helps to create high market chain between TVETs students and industries like agricultural industry parks across the country. It is also vital to solve problems related with decentralized educational platforms thereby modernizing the agriculture sector, he noted.
He further stated that the Agency also revised additional 57 curricula besides preparing about 700 instructional guidelines for TVET program during the first quarter of Ethiopian fiscal year.
Mesele Chane, Country Manager of Agricultural Transformation through Stronger Vocational Education (ATTSVE) project, on his part told The Ethiopian Herald that this project enables TVET students to access modern production technologies, teaching and learning equipment, besides supporting agro processing program.
Adding to the point, he said that institutional transformation, instructor training, programming support, networking and linkage among Agricultural TVETs are the major pillars that have been conducted by ATTSVE in collaboration with MoA and TVET Agency.
As to him, pilot operation of the new specialty curriculum is being implementing on four selected regional Agricultural TVETs. Cognizant of this fact, delegates from Maichew of Tigrai, Woreta of Amhara, Wolaita Sodo of SNNP and Nejo of Oromia regions’ ATVET institutions stated that conducting and applying national curriculum is important particularly to centralize education system across the country in addition to modernizing agriculture.
Tigist Kebede, Agency’s Team Leader stated that the curriculum and assessment process of the three fields was prepared from level I to III courses, and the rest is on the process to be prepared. She also stated that trainers’ training was conducted for more than 50 TVET instructors besides preparing training tools and places.
Additionally, she noted that integrated education being provided through federal and regional ATVETs has been playing crucial roles in producing quality and efficient students who have a significant role in the country’s economic growth.
Capacity building, conducting trainings for selected ATVET’s instructors and students, upgrading demonstration farm and funding ATVET’s micro value chain development are among the forthcoming activities that are planned by the project, said Frehiwot Tesfaye, program manager of ATTSVE.
As to her, ATVET project is funded by Global Affairs Canada and led by Dalhousie University, in partnership with MEDA, McGill University, and Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM) who is working with the above listed ATVETs. And it is involving in building the capacity, skills and knowledge among the above listed ATVETs through allocating 18 million Canadian Dollar.
The Ethiopian Herald Saturday 18 January 2020
BY HIZKEL HAILU
