INVESTIGATION OF THE CAUSES OF SLOW DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN UGANDA -A CASE STUDY OF MUKONO DISTRICT

CHAPTER ONE:

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

According to Reeve, E. M. (2016), Technical and Vocational Education is used as comprehensive terms referring to those aspects of the Education process involving, in addition to general Education the study of technologies and related sciences, and the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, understanding, and knowledge relating to occupation in various sectors of economic and social life.

According to Maclean, Wilson et al. (2009), TVET is concerned with the acquisition of knowledge and skills for the world of work to increase opportunities for productive work, sustainable livelihoods, personal empowerment and socioeconomic development in knowledge economies. The African Union Strategy to Revitalize TVET in Africa (2007) recognizes the importance of TVET is to train the skilled and entrepreneurial workforce that Africa needs to create wealth and emerge out of poverty. The purpose of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is to equip people with the technical and professional skills needed for socio-economic and industrial development of the country.

Before the coming of the missionaries in Uganda in 1880s, there existed indigenous Educational methods of imparting knowledge and skills to the younger generation. Through this kind of learning, each society in Uganda was helped to pass their Educational values to the younger men and women. This Education played a major role in transmitting Technical skills such as pottery, carpentry, iron smelting to the younger ones to ensure the survival of the humanity within their vicinity. The transmission of skills started right from childhood until he/she died. Thus learning was through apprenticeships where the young ones learnt from the master in any given skill (Okware, 2017).

Okiror, (2017), stated that in 1925, the Government of Uganda started playing an active role in manning Education and this expanded rapidly. A number of commissions were established to review the Education system in Uganda for example, in 1925 the Phelps-stokes commission was set up. This commission emphasized that Education should be for the adaption of the people in their environment. This meant that students in Uganda were to be given knowledge and skills to become innovative, self-reliant citizens. Therefore, all efforts in TVET were to be spent on equipping students with the necessary competences to become progressive country dwellers.

Mande, (2017) adds that the Castle Commission appointed in 1963 to put more emphasis on Technical Education because graduates from there were skilled ready for any work. The pointed out need for raising standards of agriculture, Technical Education, expansion of girls’ Education, and provision of adult Education. Despite the commissions’ emphasis on Technical Education, TVET still lagged behind in academic Education which called for a review of Education system.

Furthermore, the white paper also pointed out that government will encourage private industry, commerce and services to participate fully in the running of programs in Technical and Vocational training at the tertiary level much was not done to implement the above recommendations and quality of TVET still remained unpleasant (Okware, 2017).

This according to Mande, (2017), eventually led to the establishment of the BTVET, a fully-fledged department, under the Ministry of Education and sports to manage all the issues regarding Business, Technical and Vocational Education in Uganda. Business was particularly included in the traditional ‘TVET’ to highlight the importance that government attaches to blending business management and entrepreneurship to Technical and Vocational Education and its overall role in the country’s economic development. The department was immediately charged with the responsibility for developing a policy framework and strategic plan for development of Vocational Education in Uganda, thus, the BTVET act of 2008 was enacted to create a necessary legal environment for the development of TVET in Uganda. The government has come with a 10-year strategic plan named “Skilling Uganda” to ensure that all Ugandans regardless of age, sex and race acquire the skills they need to raise their productivity and income. Recognition of Non formal Education spearheaded by Directorate of industrial training is also geared towards increasing access to skills training (Okiror, 2017).

Despite the above strategies the government has put in place the TVET has not been seen by majority public as an attractive venture as compared to academic Education which is growing at a faster speed. The infrastructure in most Technical institutes is still very miserable, enrollment is still low in TVET, and the masses still envisage TVET as a dead venture. I t is from this background that the researcher wants to find out the why the TVET has developed at a very slow rate in spite the measures government has put in place.

1.2 Statement of the problem what the government has done

Low enrollment of students in TVET institutions, poor infrastructure in the TVET institutions, and the incompetence of TVET graduates are all signs of slow development from the researcher’s point of view however what causes this situation is not clear. No one knows whether is the responsibility of Ugandans, government or the career of profile of Technical and Vocational Education. The researcher thus desires to find out the causes of slow development of TVET in Uganda.

1.3 Aim of the study

To investigate the causes of slow development of the Technical and Vocational Education in Uganda.

1.4 Objectives of the study

To identify the factors that causes the slow development of technical and Vocational Education in Uganda.
To identify the causes of the factors causing slow development in Technical and Vocational Education in Uganda.

To establish mitigation measures to improve on the status of Technical and Vocational Education in Uganda.

To develop an action plan

1.5 Research questions

The need of the study arises out of the desire to find out

What are the causes of the slow development of Technical and Vocational Education in Uganda?
What are the possible measures that can be put to improve the status of Technical and Vocational Education?

1.7 The significance of the study

The study will be done to investigate the causes of slow development in Technical and Vocational Education in Uganda. The findings of this research will assist in the following;

Parents to get sensitized more about technical education which help to them to see Technical in positive perspective.
Students to develop love for TVET

District Education administrators in the supervision and emphasizing career guidance in schools.

The ministry of education and sports to develop ways of improving the business, Vocational and Technical Education department status quo in the aspects of institutions infrastructure facilities like textbooks and tools, staff houses, workshops and laboratories, classrooms and furniture and staff remuneration to mention but a few.
The research will also help me to improve on my research skills and as a research student especially in matters regarding on the ways of data collection, analysis and its presentation and how relate with people.

1.8 Scope of the study

Geographically, the study will be conducted in Mukono district. This is due to the fact that Mukono has number of Technical institutions which are not far from each other and because most people from this area understand English the researcher will not get problems of language barrier.

The content scope will be limited to the causes of slow development in Technical Education and the possible measures to overcome these problems.

1.9 Limitation

The researcher faced a challenge in the midst of the research whereby she got sick and could not complete the time expected though with the supervisor’s guidance the researcher got to finish and submit the report.

Research writer