KAMPALA – The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni urged Primary Seven leavers to choose Technical Vocational Education Training – TVET as the best career choice that will equip them with the necessary skills and enhance their employment opportunities.
Mrs Museveni was speaking at the release of the Uganda Community Polytechnic Certificate (UCPC) November/December 2023, Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board – UBTEB Examinations’ results.
“I have noted the enrolment of more female trainees than males in Garment Design and Construction, Hair Dressing and Beauty Therapy and Food Preparation and Processing. I urge all stakeholders to interest more female trainees to enroll for Technical and Vocational programmes.”
Through her State Minister for Primary Education, Joyce Moriku Kaducu, Mrs Museveni congratulated all candidates and their parents upon the successful completion of their studies and appealled to Principals of TVET institutions to give them priority in this 2024 admissions for National Certificate in Technical and Vocational Programmes for smooth upward career progression.
She was excited by the increase in the number of trainees that enrolled for UCPC TVET programmes after Primary Seven – noting that the 20% increase is very commendable.
“This is proof that Ugandans have appreciated the voluntary uptake of TVET programmes. As Government we encourage more trainees to make TVET their preferred career choice given its contribution towards building a critical mass of Technicians and Artisans,” she noted.
She also commended UBTEB for providing a conducive environment for the students to be assessed. Janet revealed that in skilling the youth for productivity, the Government plans with inclusiveness not to leave anybody behind.
She pledged commitment to deliver the much-needed competent workforce that is relevant to support the growth of critical sectors of the economy like manufacturing, and construction among others.
Mr. Onesmus Oyesigye – Board, Executive Secretary said they registered a total of 4,474 (874 females and 3,600 males) candidates, 4,344 of whom turned up for examinations while 130 candidates were absent.
According to him, 93% successfully acquired all competencies in their respective trades.
“Out of the 832 female candidates, 89.5 percent acquired all the competencies while out of the 3,512 male candidates, 94.4% acquired all the competencies. This implies that despite low enrolment of females in the technical TVET programmes, the few who enroll do perform very well and pass their examinations.”
He attributed the increase in the number of candidates to continued advocacy for TVET skills, the awakening of citizens towards vocational skills acquisition and change in admissions criteria which prioritizes the desire of the applicant to pursue a course of interest rather than the grades obtained at lower levels of education.
According to him, compared to the November/December 2022 examinations results with 3,742 registered candidates, 3,263 sat and 2411 (74%) successfully completed, there is a 19% performance improvement – from 74%.
However, Mr Executive Secretary noted that the quality of performance declined with candidates scoring Distinction reduced from 9.3% in 2022 to 3.0% in 2023, Credit from 52.6% to 47% and Pass grades from 11.9% to 43%.
“These successful candidates will be joining the world of work under apprenticeship and or will proceed to pursue further studies in line with their respective trades at National Certificate level in the various Vocational Training Institutes,” he noted.
Oyesigye says that candidates who pursued Certificate in Welding and Metal Fabrication did not do well in the papers. “Welding Technology and Metal Fabrication and Drawing which was attributed to the instructors not fully covering the syllabus.”
On the other hand, candidates who pursued certificate in Electrical Installation passed the papers; Electrical Installation Science and electrical installation technology and regulations with low grades probably due to inadequate syllabus coverage.
Also, Mathematics and English have continued to pose difficulties to these candidates due to non-revised curriculum and delivery issues instructing learners with non-applied trade specific knowledge.
Challenges
The Board decried low performance exhibited in some programmes of in Junior Certificates in Welding and Metal Fabrication, and Electrical Installation, however, pledged to carry out research to find out the possible causes.
They also decried cost of conducting assessments is still high in practically dominated courses and on spot practical assessments which are critical in competency-based assessment.
Inadequate equipment like computers, high cost of internet connectivity services and inadequate human resources in some Training Institutions, has continued to affect the smooth conduct of Examinations, according to Oyesigye.
Recommendations
The Board requested the Ministry of Education to continue recruiting more Instructors in areas that seem to have shortage like Welding and Metal Fabrication among others.
They also want Relevant Instructional materials especially text books be designed by the Curriculum Specialists and Authors in TVET to boost the teaching and learning of UCPCs programmes.
UBTEB also wants Institutions to be encouraged to utilize local low cost training and assessment materials during the conduct of practicals. “These can also support community development and training with production in TVET Institutions. Hence a need to develop a checklist of the low cost training and assessment materials for TVET Institutions to use.”
There is need to financially support the Board in the implementation of the TVET Policy 2019 through modularization of skills assessment, and Staff Capacity Building to re-align assessment to the needs of the world of work to expedite flexible learning, innovation, and employability of TVET graduates.
Another call to the Ministry and other Development Partners is to provide support for ICT equipment and connectivity in Public and Private TVET providers to match with the digital world.
They also called for retraining of trainers and other support personnel to specifically to take care of trainees with special needs.
