File photo shows local students attend a welding training course in Kampala, capital of Uganda, March 21, 2018. The trainees should be able to pass the welding examination after about 50 days of training. (Xinhua/Zhang Gaiping)
KAMPALA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Shandong Vocational College of Science and Technology has opened a branch in Uganda in a bid to boost the country's vocational education.
Huang Qi, the deputy head of Shandong Provincial Department of Education, said the opening of the college marks a new stage in the cooperation between Shandong Province and Uganda.
"Shandong and Uganda have been engaged in exchanges and cooperation in the fields of industry and trade, processing of agricultural products and animal husbandry. There are also many people from Uganda living or working in all parts of Shandong," Huang said at the launch of the college here.
Aggrey David Kibenge, under-secretary at the ministry of education and sports, who represented the minister said the college would boost the country's vocational education, which is critical in boosting social and economic development.
Lt. Gen. Charles Angina, deputy chairperson of Operation Wealth Creation, a state wealth creation agency, said the Ugandan government is promoting vocational education and training as a strategic medium for industrialization.
"It gives us great delight to witness the long-awaited establishment of Shandong College here in Uganda which will greatly promote the cultivation of technical personnel with various skills and knowledge needed in the next chapter of Uganda's story which is an economic take-off and massive industrialization," Angina said.
Liu Guiyu, the president of Shandong Vocational College of Science and Technology, said they would focus on teaching computer application technology, textile and garment, and machining.
The college dubbed, Shandong Vocational College of Science & Technology, East Africa (Uganda) College, is co-established by Sunmaker Oil and Gas Institute, Shandong Vocational College of Science & Technology and Sunbelt Textile Company Limited. It will admit over 600 students per year.
