By Kidega Livingstone
African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has launched a technical and vocational education training (TVET) project in South Sudan, targeting out-of-school youth.
The initiative comes at a time, a statistics shows over 2.8 million children in the country are not enrolled in school, while only 2.2 million are attending classes.
Francis Wadu, the Director General of Technical and Vocational Training at the Ministry of General Education and Instruction, welcomed the project, stating that it is timely and will provide an opportune support for the beneficiaries, which are the young people, as well as the government.
“Most of the youth have never had the opportunity to attend school in the past because of war and other factors. This is an opportune support and at an opportune moment,” Wadu said during the launch event yesterday.
The $9.3 million, five-year project which will be implemented by UNESCO, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Labor, and the Ministry of General Education, aims to equip youth with technical skills to boost employment and support the country’s agricultural sector.
Professor Isaac Cleto Rial, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, expressed his belief that the project is well-designed to equip the youth with knowledge for self-employment.
“This program (project) I believe will drive the youth away from the streets who don’t have what to do, and this will improve what we have in the university plan,” he said.
Suzzy Albert, the Director General for Aid Coordination at the Ministry of Finance and Planning, also expressed the government’s excitement about the AfDB’s support for TVET, stating that it will allow the country to focus on agriculture for the benefit of the South Sudanese people.
“As the government, we are excited that the support project is timely for the people of South Sudan because this will allow us to focus on agriculture for our benefit as South Sudanese,” she said.
The Acting UNESCO Representative, Dr. Tap Raj Pant, said that UNESCO is proud to be a project implementer, as it aligns with the organization’s ongoing efforts to support technical and vocational education and youth employment.
Fauzi Haji, the Officer in Charge of the AfDB in South Sudan, noted that this TVET project is part of the bank’s broader initiatives in the country, which include entrepreneurship programs aimed at empowering women and youth.
“We are soon going to review another project that is going to kick off in November 2024” she said.