Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) has established a technical and education college of its own hoping to raise the standards of vocational skills training. According to report from the military, the new institution was approved last week by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). On the Certificate of Registration dated 30 May, 2018, TEC stated that the Armed Forces Technical and Education College (AFTEC) “having fulfilled all the conditions provided in the TEC Act 2001 has been duly registered as a Certified Tertiary Education Institution”.At the technical planning meeting held at the Conference Hall of the Armed Forces Educational Centre (AFEC) in Wilberforce, the Commanding Officer of AFEC, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Bockarie, said that the mission of the college is to provide quality education for professional career development for military personnel, their dependents and the public by providing marketable skills, training and relevant tertiary education. Lieutenant Colonel Bockarie confirmed that the college would open its doors for business in October this year. He said the college would kick off with National Vocational Certificate (NVC), National Technician Certificate (NTC) and National Diploma (ND) courses. Highlighting the courses for the various programs of study, Lieutenant Colonel said the courses for the NVC would include masonry, carpentry, metal work, tailoring, and refrigeration. He added that the NTC courses would cover business studies, catering, computer science, automobile technology, building technology, electrical and electronics technology, mechanical technology and fashion and designing. The Head of AFEC further added that the National Diploma courses would cover business administration, electrical and electronics engineering, accounting and finance, food and beverage production, software programs, computer hardware engineering, mechanical engineering, building and civil engineering, automobile engineering, fashion and designing and nursing (Diploma). The Director of the National Council of Technical, Vocational and other Academic Awards (NCTVA), Alhaji Mohamed Jalloh, said that the various courses would help both military personnel as well as the public to acquire skills that would help meet the country’s labour shortage requirements and challenges.
AT/11/6/18
By Austin Thomas
Monday June 18, 2018.
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