VOCATIONAL education stakeholders, including instructors and college principals, have raised concerns over outdated training equipment such as typewriters, which they say undermine relevance of vocational education.
Hezbon Mwera, Chairman of the Lake Zone Technical College Principals Association, voiced the concerns in Dar es Salaam yesterday when speaking during the 50th anniversary of vocational training and 30 years of the establishment of the Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA).
Mwera, who is also the Director of Tarime Technical College, stressed that the training equipment are outdated and misaligned with modern technology.
“The curriculum still relies on obsolete equipment. Students graduate with skills that are no longer useful in today’s job market. For instance, typewriters are still used in secretarial courses but where will they find them in real work settings?” he questioned.
“Students may learn how to type, but on what? Typewriters are still in use during training, but which offices still have them? Perhaps only district offices for printing birth certificates, but even the offices have switched to electric machines,” he added.
He called for the replacement of outdated equipment with modern tools like computers to reflect current industry standards.
Mwera also highlighted that many vocational college graduates come from low-income families and proposed establishing a special fund to provide them with essential work tools, such as sewing machines, to support self-employment.
“A carpentry graduate should receive a toolbox and a computer graduate should be given a computer. We have six regional vocational training associations, but we struggle to have a unified national voice to drive progress,” he said.
“College principals are at the forefront of vocational training. We often see national leaders travel abroad to learn from developed nations. Vocational education leaders should also have the opportunity to join these visits and gain insights,” he added.
Damas Masanja, an instructor at VETA Mbeya, supported Mwera’s call for modernizing equipment and enhancing teacher training to keep pace with technological advances.
Masanja also pointed to the negative public perception of vocational education as a major challenge, discouraging young people from pursuing technical training.
Godwin Mpelumbe, Acting Assistant Director for Employment Promotion in the Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Youth, Employment, and Persons with Disabilities) noted that a large number of young people remain unemployed or are not engaged in any form of education or training.
“About 17.1 percent of Tanzanian youth are idle. This is a major challenge, which is why we introduced an apprenticeship programme targeting youth aged 18 to 35, including those outside the formal education system,” he said.
