Abstract
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been a front burner and controversial topic in many developing countries as a result of the existing diverse perspectives on its feasibility or effectiveness in terms of provision of education and the attendant benefits. The embedded diverse interests involved in TVET ranging from the policy makers in host countries to international organizations involved in TVET as well as researchers from the two divides of the funding countries and fund recipient countries. The prevalent arguments against the feasibility of TVET as an option to academic stream of studies in developing countries has dominated the global scene for long until the recent renewed focus on the subject by international organizations, notably the World Bank and traditional donor agencies. The latter had hitherto deserted TVET in preference for regular academic stream of studies consequent upon the World Bank funded research recommendations that investment in TVET has lower rates of return in comparison to the regular academic education. Among others, researches conducted by World Bank researchers in the early 90s reviewed the African vocational education experience and returned with results vocationalization initiatives prompted by post-independence aspirations all failed due to issues related to high cost, lack of student interest, or mis-match with employers needs and several other problems.The results and recommendations of several of
such studies significantly influenced the decision of the World Bank and other
international funding organizations on provision of funds for TVET in
developing countries and resulted in the drastic reduction of the World Bank's
lending to vocational education which stood at 25% out of the total education
lending in 1984-1985 to 3% by 1996. The World Bank hinged its decision to
significantly cut its funding of TVET projects coupled with its related policy
advice to governments to reduce their financial support and provision of TVET
on the proposition that the governance, funding and provision of TVET is best
left to individuals, enterprises, and private sector training institutions with
government intervention kept to a minimum. The Bank's decision adversely
affected the growth of TVET in most developing countries; especially, in
Sub-Sahara Africa considering the fact that most of the countries newly got
independence and were unable to fully finance TVET provisions effectively
without external lending. Though the Bank's decision received diverse
criticisms, and it took over three decades later before an apology came from
the Bank during its 2018 annual meeting, the nascent growth of TVET in most
African countries after their independence was effectively truncated by the
Bank's decision, which was followed by years of prevalent imbalance in
education structure, underfunding of TVET, skills shortages, skills mismatch
and massive unemployment coupled with stagnant economies on the African
continent.
On the other hand, China, the largest developing
country in the world, has become a model for many other developing countries
seeking space in the global economy. As a developing country that has attained
rapid development through investment in TVET in contemporary period, China
remains a feasible and most appropriate example for developing countries
intending to promote inclusive growth and development. The Chinese successful
experience in TVET at the
time when theories postulated by western-funded researchers claimed investment
in TVET was not profitable especially for developing countries, gives credence
to the need for developing countries to learn and replicate same. China’s
successful experience in TVET delivery is the most recent, globally
acknowledged successful TVET delivery project which effectively solved the
twin-problem of unemployment and unemployment-triggered
poverty: two grim challenges confronting most developing countries of the
Southern hemisphere. China’s consistent rise to global limelight as a leading
industrial nation no doubt is closely connected to the country’s unwavering
focus on human capital development through the provision of education that is
relevant to the need of the society at every stage of development.
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