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Title: 
Programme on lower vocational education
Location: 
National
Timing: 
2014 - 2016
Budget: 
Planned 2014 - 2016: €1,901,722
Donor: 
Belgian Federal Government (DGD)
Focus: 
Secondary technical and vocational education, Teacher Development, School Leadership, Strategic Support
Challenge: 

In 2012, the Surinamese government started to reform its lower vocational education (LBO). These are the first years of secondary vocational education. An important part of this change process is the professionalisation of teachers and school leaders. The challenges are substantial:

  • to train the LBO teachers in competency-based education;
  • to teach pedagogical and didactic skills to the LBO vocational teachers;
  • to improve the subject specific technical skills of the LBO vocational teachers;
  • to make sure the LBO teachers are better in touch with the business sector;
  • to improve the handling of the LBO teachers and school leaders of the large number of special care pupils in the LBO;
  • and to strengthen the basic competences of primary school teachers to ensure that pupils starting in secondary vocational education have sufficient numeracy and literacy skills.
Goal: 

Teachers and school leaders in lower vocational education prepare pupils for their role in society and for decent work.

Partners: 

Strategic partner

  • Ministry of Education, Science and Culture

Operational partners

  • Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture
  • Inspection Department of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture
  • Guidance Department of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture
  • Centre for Continuing Education of Suriname
  • Pedagogical institutes for primary education teachers
  • Teacher training institute for vocational education teachers
Approach: 

In Suriname, VVOB focuses on capacity development of partner organisations that are working on teacher training and professional development of LBO teachers and school leaders, having attention for a better connection between education and the labour market. Gender and environment are points of attention throughout the programme. This programme has six result areas.

  • In the first result area, VVOB supports the Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in establishing structured cooperation between LBO, the business sector and other relevant ministries (such as the Ministry of Work).
     
  • The Teacher Training for Vocational Education trains LBO teachers on a higher education level. VVOB works on strengthening this teacher training in order that, among others, the training of LBO teachers is better adapted to the competences demanded by the labour market.
     
  • In the third result area, VVOB ensures that the Centre for Continuing Education of Suriname has the capacity to provide quality training for teachers and school leaders of LBO.
     
  • VVOB supports the Inspection Department of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in the process of familiarising the inspectors of secondary education with LBO.
     
  • In the fifth result area, VVOB supports the capacity of the Guidance Department of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture so it can help the LBO schools in looking after and supporting special care pupils. Special attention goes to the handling of teachers and school leaders of teenage pregnancies, a major cause of girls dropping out of secondary vocational education.
     
  • Finally, VVOB also supports the pedagogical institutes for primary education teachers, with emphasis on the increase of literacy and numeracy skills, which the future teachers often lack.