Improving standards: ‘Technical education syllabus to be upgraded’

International consultant firm to be hired for the purpose.


Our Correspondent July 07, 2015
International consultant firm to be hired for the purpose. PHOTO: fb.com/AshfaqSarwarOfficial

LAHORE: The government is going to upgrade the curricula of Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) institutes, Minister for Labour and Human Rights Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said on Tuesday.

He was presiding over the first meeting of a committee constituted by the chief minister to upgrade the syllabi.

Provincial Minister for Zakat and Ushr Malik Nadeem Kamran, Planning and Development Board Chairman Irfan Elahi, TEVTA Chairman Irfan Qaiser Shaikh and representatives of the World Bank and the Punjab Information Technology Board attended the meeting.

“The government has decided to hire an international consultant firm to upgrade the curricula for skill training institutes of the Punjab. We want to impart demand-based training so that students can get jobs in local and international markets,” he said.

The minister said that centres of excellence would be established to provide apprenticeships to more students. “The government will formulate a labour market information system containing information about students and the industrial sector,” he said.

Planning and Development Board chairman Irfan Elahi said that formation of an independent examination body, hiring of a consultancy firm and placement of trainees with coordination of the private sector were included in the terms of reference (TORs) of the committee.

The participants of the meeting gave several suggestions for restructuring and upgrading of the curricula.

Sarwar constituted a subcommittee to consider all aspects of the upgrade.

Training

The TEVTA institutes trained 3,066 staff members from July 2014 to June 2015, Shaikh said. He was addressing a meeting at the TEVTA secretariat.

Shaikh said that the training programme was based on international standards. “A total of 282 staff members were trained in management, 757 in pedagogy and blended learning, 937 in information technology, 692 in skill up-grade, 218 in English language skills, 37 in industries exposure and 52 to be master trainers,” he said.

Shaikh said that 2,500 in-service TEVTA teachers would be trained during the 2015-2016 financial year. “Teachers will be trained in new demand-driven courses. The training will be conducted at the Government Staff Training Colleges in Gulberg, Lahore, Dev Samaj Road, Lahore, Faisalabad and Murree,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2015.

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