KILIMANJARO: JULY 2024, marked a milestone in the education centre in Same District in Kilimanjaro region, after the Ishinde village based NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO) Ishinde Youth Initiative (IYI) opened the doors of the Marion Meyenburg Vocational Training Centre (Marion Meyenburg VTC).
Commenting on the new training centre the Director of IYI, Mr Noel Kipesha said the introduction of the VTC was the continuation of the educational activities after the establishment of the nursery school which is also under the IYI.
Mr Kipesha says that the jump into establishing a vocational training centre straight from the nursery school was due to the high demands of a technical institution that could meet the needs of those who complete their primary and secondary education but could not continue with further studies due to different reasons.
“One could as why didn’t we think of introducing a primary school after the nursery school and then a secondary school before embarking on a college; the real fact is that there were big demands of a vocational training institute that would provide technical training to those who have finished their primary and secondary education but could not continue with further studies”, he says.
According to him the decision to establish the technical school was good, something which was proved by the number of students who reported at the new institute when it started its operations in July, this year.
“So far we have a total of 80 students who are pursuing their studies in motor vehicle driving, tailoring, entrepreneurship education and computer studies; this is a big number compared to the target of receiving 60 students which was set by the management of the college”, he says.
He adds, “The fact that the number of students surpassed the target of admission which was set by the management is clear evidence that the demands for technical education are very high.” “To start with, the management of the college decided to provide offer to the first batch of students who reported during the opening of the college, whereby they will study for free but will start paying the college fees as from January, 2025,” he adds.
Mr Kipesha continues to say that apart from the 80 students who are studying technical related subjects, the management of the college also introduced an entrepreneurship class with the intention of providing entrepreneurship education to small business persons.
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Commenting on the challenges that the VTC faces during its day to day activities, Mr Kipesha says that they include that of the shortage of teachers who are needed to provide technical education.
“So far we have total of 13 teachers, whereby we have also provided employments to people with special needs so as to respond to the government’s appeal to involve them (people with special needs) in development activities due to the real fact that they also do have something to contribute for the nation’s wellbeing”, he says.
He cites other challenges as those of the lack of a library, lack of staff houses, lack of a garage and workshop for training purposes, lack of a carpentry workshop for training purposes and a small number of computers compared to the numbers which are needed for training at the college.
Mr Kipesha attributes all the IYI and the Marion Meyenburg achievements to the Same district government which he says that it has and continues to provide its (government) cooperation to the two institutions (IYI and Marion Meyenburg VTC).
“We also thank our main donors the German based Marion Meyenburg Stiftung organisation for its big support since the establishment of these two (IYI and Marion Meyenburg VTC) institutions”, he adds.
“The government and Marion Meyenburg Stiftung support brought a new hope to the people of Ishinde village, Same district and the neighbouring districts, most of whom didn’t know what to do after completing their primary and secondary education and missed the opportunities to proceed further with their education”, he says.
“To start with, the management of the college decided to provide offer to the first batch of students who reported during the opening of the college, whereby they will study for free but will start paying the college fees as from January, 2025,” he adds.
Mr Kipesha continues to say that apart from the 80 students who are studying technical related subjects, the management of the college also introduced an entrepreneurship class with the intention of providing entrepreneurship education to small business persons.
“So far we have a class which provides entrepreneurship courses to 60 students, most of them are those who come from rural areas; this course will be provided every after four months”, he says.
Commenting on the challenges that the VTC faces during its day to day activities, Mr Kipesha says that they include that of the shortage of teachers who are needed to provide technical education.
“So far we have total of 13 teachers, whereby we have also provided employments to people with special needs so as to respond to the government’s appeal to involve them (people with special needs) in development activities due to the real fact that they also do have something to contribute for the nation’s wellbeing”, he says.
He cites other challenges as those of the lack of a library, lack of staff houses, lack of a garage and workshop for training purposes, lack of a carpentry workshop for training purposes and a small number of computers compared to the numbers which are needed for training at the college.
Mr Kipesha attributes all the IYI and the Marion Meyenburg achievements to the Same district government which he says that it has and continues to provide its (government) cooperation to the two institutions (IYI and Marion Meyenburg VTC).
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“We also thank our main donors the German based Marion Meyenburg Stiftung organisation for its big support since the establishment of these two (IYI and Marion Meyenburg VTC) institutions”, he adds.
“The government and Marion Meyenburg Stiftung support brought a new hope to the people of Ishinde village, Same district and the neighbouring districts, most of whom didn’t know what to do after completing their primary and secondary education and missed the opportunities to proceed further with their education”, he says.
