ADB offers interest-free loans to TEVTA graduates

The bank will offer a loan of $50-70 million to help students start their own businesses


Our Correspondent July 07, 2017
PHOTO: NNI

LAHORE: Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) Chairman Irfan Qaiser Sheikh has said Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of $50-70 million to the graduates of the vocational institute to help start their own businesses.

The TEVTA chairman said this after the visit of an ABD delegation on Wednesday. The five-member delegation of ADB visited the TEVTA secretariat and institute. The delegation visited the class rooms of Chinese language, IT, mobile repairing, hospitality and others. It comprised of Adviser to Vice President ADB Chen Chen, Country Director PRM Zaihong Yang, Principal Education Specialist Norman LaRocque, economist Farzana Noshab and Social Sector Specialist Munir Abro.

Livelihood: 236 women given vocational training

Irfan said the ADB would provide a loan of $50-70 million on relaxed conditions with which TEVTA would facilitate its graduates so that they could start their own businesses. He also announced that all TEVTA institutes would be converted to solar energy technology.

Later, while briefing the media, Irfan Qaiser sheikh said the World Bank has also provided $50 million loan to TEVTA. “We have provided skills to more than 200,000 students in a year, now there is a need to empower them by providing interest-free loans,” he added. The markup on the loans would be borne by TEVTA, he said.

He told the ADB vice president that TEVTA’s focus was short courses because a six month course could provide reasonable earning to both male and female students. He said TEVTA had hired international master trainers in order to increase the quality of education at its institutes.

Training 1,200 students: Afternoon vocational classes for women

Irfan told the vice president that TEVTA was offering latest and updated courses to students and would continue to add more courses in context of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). “These courses included Chinese language, hospitality management, construction, industry, automobile, IT, security, beautician, financial market and many other areas which attract thousands of students,” he said.

In order to provide access to international market for its students, TEVTA had also started several courses in collaboration with several multinational organisations.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2017.

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