MONROVIA, March 31 (LINA) -Youth and Sports Minister Eugene Nagbe has disclosed that the government and development partners have secured a US$10 million financing for the Booker Washington Institute (BWI).

 
He said the amount is intended to upgrade and transform BWI into a center of excellence and is also in furtherance of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) operational plan.
 
Nagbe revealed that with the support of UNESCO and the World Bank, the Inter-Ministerial Task Force on TVET has produced the national TVET policy intended to provide a clear roadmap for developing a coordinated and quality-assured TVET system in Liberia.
 
He disclosed that the TVET policy is being accompanied by an operational plan triggering the establishment of several institutions, including the Tumutu Agriculture Training Center in Bong County and the Klay Vocational Training Center in Bomi County to serve as a regional hub for Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, Gbarpolu, and Upper Montserrado Counties.
 
Minister Nagbe made the statement over the weekend when he served as keynote speaker at the 2013/2014 64th commencement of the BWI in Kakata, Margibi County.
 
He noted that it is now hoped that the Board of Governors can restart the conversation in up-scaling BWI to a Technical College.
 
He urged stakeholders to direct resources to science and technology for it is only through a strong and vibrant corps of technicians and engineers that an industry-based economy can be realized.
 
Minister Nagbe noted that “the course is charted and we must align technical training to the projected and anticipated employment areas. We must train more technicians, engineers and industrialist and less accountants, political and social scientist.”
 
“We will transform BWI, we will shift the paradigm towards technical education, and we will produce the quality of young leaders with the requisite employable skills to drive the economy,” Minister Nagbe indicated.
LINA