EU-Funded Vocational Training Curriculum launched in South Sudan
The Ministry of General Education and Instruction and the European Union (EU) launched on Thursday, 5th September 2019 the first ever Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Curriculum in South Sudan. This new curriculum is part of a programme, popularly known as EMPOWER Project which aims at providing skills based education to aid youth productivity and provide employment, as well as strengthening civil society.
The 7 Million Euro Empower project engaged different stakeholders including ministries of General Education and Instruction, Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development, Youth, Culture and Sports, Parliamentary Committee on Education and other key ministries in developing this TVET Curriculum. This project also has a component of funding civil society organisations to support community projects in former Warrap, Western and Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Jonglei and Central Equatoria states.
Speaking at the launch of the TVET Curriculum, Christer Hermansson, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to South Sudan, hailed the line ministries, the Empower team and the other key stakeholders for working diligently in developing the Curriculum.
"TVET curriculum suits the long expressed needs of South Sudanese youth, the majority of whom are unfortunately out of school system," said Mr Hermansson. "By giving skills to these youth, the country will be able to grow as education and training are fundamental in the social and economic development of South Sudan. The European Union will continue to work closely with key stakeholders to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning for all.”
According to the Minister for General Education and Instruction, the Curriculum focuses on solving the problem of unemployment by developing skilled youth, women, disabled and older persons, and over 4,000 youth will benefit from the project in the next three years. “The project provides critical support in the Ministry of General Education to consolidate efforts in the country to coordinate TVET and to award certificates through the National Examination Council which is a body for examination of certificates before Universities,” Deng Deng Hoc said.
The Empower project began in 2018 and it is one of the many EU funded education programmes in South Sudan, alongside the nationwide Impact programme (teachers' incentives) and the Education in Emergencies programme recently launched in Aweil State.
