Afghan President pays tribute to GIZ's TVET commitment

The project is carried out by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The occasion was the extraordinary achievements of the TVET project over the past years in the careful modernisation of the traditional apprentice training “Ostad Shagerdi”. Apprentices from the non-formalised economy now have the opportunity to attend theoretical lessons at selected formal TVET schools. The approach is called Afghan Dual Track TVET.

Assadullah Ghazanfar, Cultural Advisor to the President, praised the remarkable efforts of Dr. Gustav Reier and his team for TVET and the Afghan education system. After receiving the medal, President Ghani stressed the importance of education, especially vocational education and training, for progress in Afghan society. In addition to the work of the TVET project, he also acknowledged the work of GIZ in Afghanistan and the cooperation with the Federal Government of Germany.

Dr. Gustav Reier described the years of work on how to build a modern TVET system based on a centuries-old tradition as one of the most fascinating and inspiring challenges of his life. He gratefully accepted the medal and promised to continue the efforts in Afghan Dual Track TVET with constant commitment and passion. According to Dr. Reier, every conversation with apprentices shows that it is worth working on it.

Prior to the award ceremony, the project had conducted a half-day workshop in the presidential palace together with presidential advisor Dr. Mohamed Qayoumi and the head of the newly founded TVET Authority, Ms. Nadima Sahar. They reported on the status of Afghan Dual Track TVET activities and jointly discussed and planned the next steps for the rollout. Topics included, for instance, the selection of TVET schools and new needs-oriented training courses as well as the recruitment of teachers.