The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan makes it mandatory upon the State to make technical and professional education available to the students, providing them opportunities in skilled trades and other technical occupations. Article 37(b) of the Constitution reads:
“The State shall remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within the minimum possible period; make technical and professional education generally available and higher education equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.”
With over 92 million population below the age of 25 years coupled with 10 per cent unemployment rate and 1.8 per cent population growth rate, Pakistan direly needs a skilled and educated workforce, which can not only cater to the needs at national level but also help the country export skilled professionals to Gulf States and European countries. In this connection, the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a major role to play.
TEVTA is, primarily, focused on establishing suitable mechanism to develop and oversee a system for integrating informal economy workers. The provincial government is committed to making TEVTA effectively operational and an autonomous body and training organizations as the Directorate General of Technical Education and Manpower Training (DGTE & MT) has been brought under the umbrella of TEVTA.
I hope that the TVET system would help the provincial government achieve the targets set in the National Skill Strategy and will be able to provide relevant skills for industrial and economic development; improve access, equity and employability; and assure quality for skills development.
Abdul Karim Khan,
SA to Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa