Montserrado County’s district #14 Representative, Kerkula Muka Kamara, has introduced a bill seeking for the establishment of a Liberia Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Commission. The first reading of the bill was done in open session on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 during the extraordinary session of the House of Representatives.
“Honorable Speaker, youth unemployment and underemployment are major socio-economic challenges in Liberia. Although our country has largely overcome the trauma of a prolonged civil war, Ebola crisis and the recent Coronavirus disease, it is yet to achieve its full potential for rapid and sustainable development. The acquisition of employment-oriented competencies and skills for the job-market to drive the economy and support industrialization remains a key national development objective. Based upon the aforesaid, we are craving the indulgence of plenary to pass into law the proposed “Liberia TVET Commission Act (LiTCOM) that will have the power and authority to spearhead the process of implementation of the National TVET Policy”.
This proposed act, if passed into Law according to Representative Kamara, will reposition TVET as a vehicle for promoting access to quality skills training, stimulating economic growth, creating sustainable employment, and reducing poverty.
The policy, he told his colleagues, seeks to create a new vision for TVET that appeals to all categories of learners without distinction or discrimination, and addresses the acquisition of basic, intermediate, and higher-level skills.
The bill was forwarded to the Committee on Education through a motion to properly review it and report back to plenary.