Representatives from forty vocational education colleges in China have entered into a cooperation agreement aimed at enhancing vocational skills in Tanzania. This agreement was formalized in Dar es Salaam in the presence of Prof. James Mdoe, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. The signing took place during the China-Africa Collaboration Academic Exchange Seminar and Occupation Standards Promotion Conference, facilitated by the National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NACTVET).
Following the signing of the agreement, Prof. Mdoe expressed that the collaboration between Chinese vocational colleges and Tanzania signifies ongoing cooperation in vocational education. He highlighted the series of conferences jointly organized by both parties, bringing together technical colleges from both countries. This event marks the fourth conference convened as part of this collaboration. "The main goal is to develop technical education because our colleagues in China are very far away in the technical education and that is why we get so many products from China and other products are made in very small factories", said Prof Mdoe.
He mentioned that the government actively pursued cooperation to acquire expertise from China in fostering vocational skills, aiming to utilize this knowledge for the youth's involvement in diverse product development. He noted that this collaboration has yielded significant results, with NACTVET personnel having already undertaken technical skill training in China. Additionally, Chinese experts have been invited to Tanzania to impart their knowledge in certain technical colleges.
“Today we have witnessed an agreement in which China and Tanzania technical colleges will exchange teachers, students will go there to learn for a short time and even exchange technology and various researches so it is a very beneficial cooperation”, he said. He said that in the cooperation, Tanzania has been the biggest beneficiary because its technology is still low compared to China, which has made great strides.
He highlighted Tanzania's abundant untapped resources, emphasizing that when technical education experts from China visit, they instruct Tanzanian counterparts on harnessing these resources for product generation. Prof. Mdoe underscored Tanzania's utilization of this cooperation opportunity to train technical college instructors, enabling them to acquire advanced technology for the enhancement of vocational education within the country.
Dr. Adolf Rutayuga, the Executive Secretary of NACTVET, remarked that the collaboration facilitates the connection between Tanzanian and Chinese technical colleges, enabling them to capitalize on diverse opportunities. He noted the regular visits of Chinese colleges to Tanzania for the purpose of selecting partner institutions, with each year witnessing the arrival of new colleges from China seeking collaboration opportunities within the country.
"There is an exchange of Chinese teachers who came to teach at our colleges, an exchange of students for Tanzanian students to go China and Chinese students to come to Tanzania and this cooperation gives us great benefits because our colleagues have gone very far in technology”, said Dr Rutayuga. He mentioned that the partnership will allow Tanzanian technical colleges to establish an international presence. This will enable them to send local experts to work in different countries and enhance their expertise. “Our colleges will benefit a lot from this cooperation because we have a plan to build a resource center. We want to have a centre where great innovative things will be happening there”, he said.
