On September 18, 2014, the African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with the United Republic of Tanzania, launched the Technical Vocational Education and Teacher Education (TVET-TE) project worth US $57 million (Sh 92.4 billion) at Mwalimu Nyerere International Conference in Dar es salaam, Tanzania. The project is aimed at increasing access and improve quality of technical and vocational education and training.

The AfDB will finance 90 per cent ($52 Million) of the project while Government financing will cover the remaining 10 per cent. The ceremony was well attended by Government representatives led by the Minister for Education Vocation and Training (MoEVT), education development partners, civil society organizations, and other invited guests.

In her keynote speech, AfDB Resident Representative Tonia Kandiero said the project is expected to improve facilities at 13 institutions with a capacity of about 8,000 trainees. It will also entail the extensive use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at 53 institutions and increased capacity for teaching, policy formulation, planning and quality assurance in technical vocational education and teacher training. She also highlighted that the project falls within the priorities of the Bank's Country Strategy for Tanzania (CSP 2011-15) as well as Bank's Ten Year (2013-2022) Strategy.

Boukary Savadogo, the Education, Science and Technology Division Manager at AfDB, said there was a need to reassert strong ownership of the project by the country. "A dedicated, competent and highly motivated project management team must be in place to carry out the various tasks of the project implementation and management," he said, adding that the team should constantly strive to master the rules and procedures applicable to the project. Keiko Takei, Senior Education Economist and Task Manager at AfDB, said the project would also entail the construction of vocational training centres in Geita, Njombe, Rukwa and Simiyu regions, which lack such colleges. Under the programme, Tabora, Dakawa, Marangu, Butimba, Arusha Technical College, and Mpwapwa teachers training colleges will also benefit through improvement of their facilities.

Education and Vocational Training Minister Shukuru Kawambwa said the launch of the TVET project was part of the wider Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development Programme (TVETDP), which was launched last year.

Minister Kawambwa added that he was hopeful the TVET programme would assist in bridging skills gaps and help the country to improve the quality of its human capital, which was critical for inclusive growth and poverty reduction. However, he admitted that the provision of science and technology education in the country was seriously constrained by an acute shortage of secondary school teachers.

The launching was a testimony to the Bank's contribution to human capital development as part of support towards the transformation of Tanzania's economy and sustainable growth.

Technical contact: Keiko Takei, Senior Education Economist, tel. +216 71 10 3725, k.takei@afdb.org