On 19 – 20 June 2018, the Better Education for Africa’s Rise (BEAR II) project was launched at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies in Nairobi, Kenya.

The second phase of the five-year joint initiative of UNESCO and the Republic of Korea cooperates with five countries of Eastern Africa, namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania , in strengthening their technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems.

The project aims to enhance the relevance, quality and perception of TVET systems in five African countries through specific sectoral interventions. In Kenya, the efforts will be concentrated on strengthening TVET systems with focus on the environmental technology sector, selected for its potential to contribute towards economic growth, green jobs creation and environmental preservation.  

Approximately 40 persons from Ministries, TVET institutions, industries and stakeholders participated in the two days launch and inception workshop, which resulted in a draft work plan.

Mr Sam Ngaruiya, CEO of the Regeneration Environmental Services Ltd. and keynote speaker at the meeting, emphasized that Kenya is the hub of environmental technology in Africa and that waste should be turned into wealth.  

The opening remarks by Mr Kevit Desai, Principal Secretary at the State Department for Vocational and Technical Training at the Ministry of Education, emphasized how the BEAR project will contribute to the rebranding of TVET in the country, and to the shifting of paradigm to competency based education training.

The BEAR II project will be implemented until 2021 and contributes to the global efforts for implementing the Education 2030 Agenda in alignment with the UNESCO Strategy for TVET (2016 – 2021) and the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (2016 – 2025). The first phase of the BEAR project provided support to Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia.

• Read the press release by Nairobi UNESCO office
• Learn more about the BEAR project
• Download the project leaflet
• Read about UNESCO’s work for skills in work and life