The course 'Bricklaying and Plastering' is in its second year now. The first group has completed the program and a new group of schoolleavers has started. Business as usual one might say. The advantage is that it gives staff and management time to prepare new courses.
Next to the Trades School a Secondary School has started this year. The construction of the class rooms has been sponsored by the Dutch organization Joy of a Toy. The pictures show the preparations for the official opening as well as the celebrations afterwards. For the local community it means that for all school leavers of the primary schools in the region there is the possibility to attend secondary education locally.
In the ideal situation the whole palette of secondary education is managed by the Ministry of Education. In that way coherence and synergy between vocational and academic education can be guaranteed. Certainly in rural areas this is important because schools will be small which might – and generally will – result in limited facilities. This all sounds obvious but until recently basic vocational education – skill and craft education - was not under the control of the Ministry of Education.
With pride the Head of the schools shows that progress is made in this area. The signpost, constructed by order of the Ministry, demonstrates that the village holds a leading position in education and that the Ministry is responsible for all of the schools.
