Enabel in close collaboration with Development Partners, worked with the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) to establish and define the concept of a TVET Centre of Excellence (CoE).

This exercise which transpired during last September was aimed at establishing standard criteria and framework for grading TVET institutions. 

Consequently, this would be used as a measure and a benchmark for raising standards in targeted TVET providers. Whereas the term Centre of Excellence has commonly been used by different stakeholders, there hasn’t been a common understanding of a “TVET Centre of Excellence.” 

In 2019, with the technical assistance of a renowned global TVET Expert, the Ministry of Education and Sports conducted a consultative process for key stakeholders in skills development arena resulting in a final report, criteria and rating for a TVET Centre of Excellence finalized early this year. 

This was recently approved and adopted by the Ministry of Education and Sports and Partners in September 2020.

This concept will be piloted in a few selected public and private institutions and later rolled out to all TVET Institutions in the country. 

The Government of Uganda, with support from Development Partners is raising the standards of vocational education training providers to become Centres of Excellence.

Enabel with support from the Belgian Government and the Irish Embassy is supporting 7 VTIs to become Centres of Excellence (CoE) in Albertine/Rwenzori and Karamoja regions respectively.
These include Kasese Youth Polytechnic (KYP), St. Joseph’s Virika VTI, Uganda Technical College Kyema, Millenium Business School and St. Simon VTI Hoima for Albertine and Rwenzori; and Nakapiripiriti VTI and St. Daniel Comboni Naoi in Karamoja region. 

On the other hand, the Government of Uganda with funding from the World Bank under Uganda Skills Development Project (USDP), is supporting 4 Uganda Technical Colleges to become CoEs in four different trades. Other Development Partners like JICA, KOICA are equally supporting TVET institutions for the same purpose. 

These interventions are part of the larger government effort of accelerating and promoting the BTVET reform process foreseen in the Skilling Uganda Strategy and the recently adopted Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy.