By Frank Kanyesigye
For Rwanda to achieve its development goals and be more competitive, the
youth must embrace technical and vocational training, President Paul
Kagame said yesterday.
President Kagame officiates closing of the Association of Young Genocide Survivors retreat- Kigali, 26 November 2012
Kagame was speaking at the close of a two-week retreat that brought
together students who survived the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The
retreat was held at Nkumba in Burera district but the closing ceremony
was at Petit Stade in Kigali.
The 478 youth, including 183 females, are grouped under AERG, a French acronym for Genocide Survivors Students Association.
The President described how the mainstream education system has not
guaranteed employment. He argued that even with the increasing number of
Universities, those who graduate can neither find employment nor create
their own jobs.
He urged the youth not to despise jobs giving the examples of Germany,
Singapore and South Korea that prospered as a result of exceptional
technical and vocational skills and the hardworking nature of their
labour force.
“There was a time when South Korea was at the same level as the African
countries. Today, they are 100 times more advanced,” Kagame said.
Kagame further explained, “They don’t ignore jobs. What puts them a
class apart is the skills they acquired from vocational and technical
schools.”
The President’s call is in line with the modern global trend where
conventional schooling is gradually giving way to Technical and
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems in a bid to fight the
high rates of un-employment. TVET systems have turned the developed
countries into the world’s most industrialised nations.
There have been lots of changes within society to the effect that the
present grammar type of education can no longer be competitive in the
21st century. This has manifested in the high rates of unemployment
among fresh graduates.
The Government of Rwanda has, of recent, put more focus on vocational
and technical training as a way of streamlining the education system to
suit the demands of the labour market.
“With our history, everything must change, but it all starts with the
mindset,” Kagame said, adding that the shunning of vocational education
is a mindset challenge that must be done away with. Kagame emphasised
that challenges such as access to finance are less difficult when
compared to change of mindset and the fighting spirit, which the youth
already have.
Among the main challenges the youth face today is unemployment.
The President pointed out that with a skilled labour force in technical
education, more firms will set shop in Rwanda, consequently creating
employment opportunities. He gave an example of Singapore where airplane
engine factories have established factories as a result of the
technical skills of the Singaporeans.
“These companies don’t go to places because they have lawyers or
economists, they set up the factories because of the skilled labour,”
Kagame explained.
At the same function the President commended the youth for their
resilience, saying that while Rwandans were affected by the sad history,
they have a fighting spirit.
Rwanda has the spirit of survival, of not giving up, he said, calling on
the youth to build on that spirit to build a better future for
themselves, the country and generations to come.
“You have to be competitive, the country has to be competitive,” the
President told the youth, adding that being a market leader is not by
accident but a result of hard work.
Despite having experienced the lowest points of life as a result of the
Genocide, Rwandans have come out strong and more determined to go beyond
the sad history and take lead in creating a prosperous country.
AERG is proof of this. It shows the identity of a new Rwanda, Kagame told the youth.
“Our history is a sad story but we do not accept absurdity and ridicule in our sad story,” Kagame emphasized.
The AERG retreat was held under the theme let’s strive for the bright future while preserving our dignity.
Source: The New Times
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