ADVOCACY, Education

Meet Karangwa Carine, a young girl pursuing Masonry at DON BOSCO GATENGA TVET School

Karangwa Carine is a young girl pursuing a trade in Masonry at DON BOSCO GATENGA TVET School.

Carine is one of the few female students in her class. She says vocational training has been her dream since she started her first year in Secondary school.

“In 0’level I have chosen this course but during the selection based on criteria I was rejected. Because I loved it since my childhood, I decided to come to study it.” Carine said.

This young girl who directed her dreams into the Construction profession confirms that she is not ashamed to study a course that many consider to be only for boys.

“Enrolling in this course doesn’t make me ashamed, but it makes me proud. I loved it and I am studying it with pride so that I can finish my studies as an engineer girl.”

Carine explains that the wrong perceptions surrounding the technical and vocational courses can be blamed on the fact that few girls embrace TVET.

However, she says, young girls should be brave and learn vocational courses.

“My message to girls is to have the courage to learn a trade because this course is as good as any course else.” Carine said.

Most girls are intimidated by technical courses such as Masonry, Welding or carpentry because they think that they require physical ability. Others think that the subjects are too complicated, but also, not being able to see many females graduating in these courses discourages the rest.

Carine however, decided to follow her heart and go to a technical school and looking back, she is proud of her choice.

Being a female student in Masonry makes boys proud as Iradukunda Samson, Carine’s classmate in Level 3 Masonry, explains.

“We are very proud to be studying together with girls in Masonry. If a girl learns it passionately, she will definitely benefit from it in the future.” Iradukunda said.

Kabeho Fabien, a Masonry Trainer at Don Bosco Gatenga TVET School observed that girls are starting to enrol in technical courses, however, he adds, they are still few and participation still low.

“Sincerely when you observe their performance at school is not as high as It is observed among boys. However, there is a difference when you compare with the past. Today you can see a change” Kabeho said.

Students during practical work at DON BOSCO GATENGA TVET School

“Young girls should not be scared to enroll in technical courses. Having professional skills is important for the future and even now. In addition to that the country also wants girls to enroll in Technical and Vocational Education so they should not be afraid to pursue such courses.” Kabeho added.

Tripling girls’ enrolment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to advance women’s employment opportunities is the second out of three commitments Rwanda made under the HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality. With this commitment, the government believes that equipping girls with the right technical vocational skills will increase their ability to increase their earnings through decent employment or their ability to create their own employment based on their acquired hands-on skills.

Looking at how the government continues to implement the TVET policy, it is evident that integrating girls and women into the current situation will result in an accelerated pace although the number of girls joining TVET program remains smaller than the number of boys coming on board.

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