Enhancing professional agricultural education in development co-operation - Adaptability of the dual system in different socio-economic contexts

Unemployment continues to be one of the most serious problems in developing countries. The lack a profound and efficient systems of vocational education which can meet the challenges of rapid technological development and socio-economic change have to be considered an important cause. The German system of vocational education, normally referred to as the Dual System, has recently attracted many Third World Governments as a guideline for the improvement of professional education. This paper intends to assess activities of the German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (DITSL), Witzenhausen for the assistance in implementing an improved system of professional education based on the German experience. Between 1985 and 1998 almost 200 Moroccan agricultural professionals have been trained. In 1990 the German Agency for Technical Go-operation started a bilateral aid project which had the purpose of establishing the dual system of professional education in the agricultural sector of Morocco. The chosen approach, i.e. starting formal training five years prior to the proper project, has proven to be a decisive factor for success. In 1998/99 an effective dual system of vocational training had been implemented. Countrywide 1,200 training farms had been recognised which cared for 2,434 trainees. 35 Technical Schools with 300 trained teachers were integrated in the system. Technical vocational education in the Republic of Indonesia has been developed during the past 25 years by the establishment of a total of 3.685 Vocational Secondary Schools. Important steps have been taken by Government to match technical vocational education with the requirements of the economy by placing more weight on practical instruction in the curricula. Nevertheless, in consideration of the numerous constraints officials from the Ministry of Education and Culture came together with DITSL staff in 1996 in order to plan a co-operation programme. The objective was to introduce key elements of the German dual system of professional education into the existing Indonesian framework. As a result the implementation of a pilot training course has been implemented. This was considered a first step and a long-term co-operation programme is required in order to achieve a sustainable success.