The 120-year-old Government Technical Institute (GTI) in Insein township, Yangon Region is set to reopen its doors once again and will teach technical and vocational subjects with the help of the German government.
U Aye Myint, Director General for the Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Ministry of Education (MOE) said the institute will be run in joint partnership between the MOE and the German government.
“We have to make some major repairs to the building. It will take about next two weeks to do the repair and vocational courses are expected to start in December,” he said.
The school was opened in 1895, but the former military government closed it in 1996, using its main building as a police department and leasing out the buildings to private businesses.
In response to demand by former students across the country, the government had agreed to reopen the school.
The ceremony marking the Myanmar-Germany cooperation was held in the GTI compound on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference, U Aye Myint said, “Major repairs to the main building will continue with the advice of the Yangon Heritage Trust and with expertise from Germany.”
K2 billion has been earmarked for major repairs to the main-building and K1.5 billion has been earmarked for office equipment.
The MOE budget will cover the repairs and the German government will provide technical aid.
Among the courses that will be initially taught after the opening will be civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, electrical circuit engineering and information technology.
These courses will take three years to complete.
Applications for the GTI courses will be advertised in state-owned media and students who have passed their matriculation exam in science are eligible to apply.
In the first intake, five vocational training courses will be offered and about 200 students will be accepted in the first batch.
There are now more teachers available to teach the courses after the German government stepped in to provide technical support.
Since 2012, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany has provided more than 36 million euros (K55 billion) to the Myanmar government to enhance Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
“We are very interested in helping out the technical and vocational training education in Myanmar,” said Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany.
Source : Myanmar Times
