International Aid as a Means of Financing TVET in Developing Nations
One of the main challenges facing developing nations is the lack of skilled workforce to drive their economies to the next level.
Technical and Vocation Education and Training (TVET) institutions have been identified as educational centers of excellence that can help to promote sustainable development in developing countries. The main objective of TVET is to produce quality high skilled human resource that possess both the right attitudes as well as values.
Unfortunately, most developing nations such as Kenya are unable to fund TVETs. This is where international donors come into play. Research has consistently showed that with the right quality skilled human resource, developing nations can be able to create employment for themselves and in so doing rescue millions of young people from poverty (Clegg 478). For this reason, international aid can be directed towards the development of TVETs with the main intention of lifting millions of people from poverty.
With the skills that the young people gain in TVETs, they can be able to open up businesses or be employed. Additionally, it should be noted that the TVETs often give the students tangible skills such as carpentry, masonry and metal work which research has shown are lacking in most developing nations such as Kenya (Mwega 39).
International aid is extremely effective given that most high school students in Kenya do not cross over to higher education. Therefore, by funding TVETs, more students will be able to join higher learning institutions and develop the necessary skills that are required to move them forward in the society and assure them of a livelihood (Hjertholm 48). The funding of TVETs in Kenya is sustainable, given that the only major challenge lies in the startup costs, which can be eased through help from the alumnus from the TVETs, who can assist with the finances of the institutions.
Works Cited
Mwega, Francis. A case study of aid effectiveness in Kenya: Volatility and fragmentation of foreign aid, with a focus on health. Wolfensohn Center for Development Working Paper 8. Brookings Institution, Washington DC, USA. 2009.
Hjertholm, Peters. Foreign aid and the macro economy. Foreign Aid and Development: lessons learned and directions for the future. Rutledge: New York.
Clegg, L. “Our Dream Is a World Full of Poverty Indicators: The US, the World Bank, and the Power of Numbers.” New Political Economy. 15.4 (2010): 473-492.
