Representatives from forty vocational education colleges in China have entered a cooperation agreement to enhance vocational skills in Tanzania. This agreement was formalized in Dar es Salaam by Prof. James Mdoe, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. The signing occurred during the China-Africa Collaboration Academic Exchange Seminar and Occupation Standards Promotion Conference, facilitated by the National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NACTVET).
Following the signing of the agreement, Prof. Mdoe expressed that the collaboration between Chinese vocational colleges and Tanzania signifies ongoing cooperation in vocational education. He highlighted the series of conferences jointly organized by both parties, bringing together technical colleges from both countries. This event marks the fourth conference convened as part of this collaboration. "The main goal is to develop technical education because our colleagues in China are very far away in the technical education and that is why we get so many products from China and other products are made in very small factories", said Prof Mdoe.
He mentioned that the government actively pursued cooperation to acquire expertise from China in fostering vocational skills, aiming to utilize this knowledge to engage the youth in diverse product development. He noted that this collaboration has yielded significant results, with NACTVET personnel having already undertaken technical skill training in China. Additionally, Chinese experts have been invited to Tanzania to impart their knowledge in certain technical colleges.
“Today we have witnessed an agreement in which China and Tanzania technical colleges will exchange teachers, students will go there to learn for a short time and even exchange technology and various types of research, so it is a very beneficial cooperation,” he said. He said that Tanzania has been the biggest beneficiary in the cooperation because its technology is still low compared to China, which has made great strides.
