Govt to roll out online certification, verification for TVET graduates

Government is working on modalities for the rollout of online certification and verification of awards for technical vocational and education training (TVET) students in the country.

Uganda Business and Education Training (UBTEB) chairperson Eng Silver Mugisha said this would help universities and all prospective employers of UBTEB graduates to access online certified academic documents issued by the Board.

This will also provide foolproof qualifications, and weed out crooks as well as reduce the travel costs to certify documents at the UBTEB Secretariat.

Mugisha was speaking on Thursday during the release of the July/ August national TVET organized by UBTEB.

Results of 1,924 TVET candidates were released at the event presided over by First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Janet Museveni.

The end-of-program examinations were conducted at 45 examination centers across the country between August 2 and August 30, 2024. 

Of these candidates, 533 were female candidates (28%).

Mugisha told the minister that as part of streamlining systems at the assessment entity, they have enhanced the Boards Examination Information Management System (EIMS).

"This has now made it easy for Trainees to pay examination registration fees online using the School Pay Platform and improved the processing of examination results including submission of coursework marks and processing of academic documents, " he said.

He expressed appreciation to the minister for her support towards the construction of the Assessment Centre Project at Kyambogo, saying construction is now at 78% physical progress.

However, he said there is still a funding gap that is required to complete this project to enable the Board to occupy the premises by February 2025.

On enhancing the quality of Technical and Vocational Education, he said the board recently implemented a number of initiatives.

These include offering Continuous Professional development for assessors in Competence-Based Assessments and fostering partnerships with industries to ensure that the training programs assessed by the Board remain relevant and aligned to the market demands.

"The Board also adopted other strategies to enhance the quality of the assessment processes and the employability of the TVET graduates by subjecting itself to periodic internal and external service audits under the Quality Management System (QMS), " he said.

He noted the Board is committed to aligning assessment systems and standard operating procedures with global standards and meeting the dynamic demands of the labor market.

He commended the UBTEB secretariat headed by Onesmus Oyesigye, the entity's executive secretary, for obtaining the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Certification.

This, he said, will enhance the quality of assessment and examination management processes.

"I wish to thank the Management of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards for believing in UBTEBs service processes and recognizing our efforts in adhering to and maintaining global standards, " he said, noting that the ISO Certification is a testimony of the board's commitment to meeting the standards of the world of work during the Assessment of the skilled TVET graduates.