The management team of the Higher Professional Education Public Administration and Government Management of the Ministry of the Interior (Biza) gave a presentation to Biza minister Bronto Somohardjo on Thursday 13 August about the higher vocational training for civil servants. He is informed about the development, purpose, structure and challenges of the training.
The presentation was given by Kavita Gangadin, Head of Education and Training at the Ministry. After the presentation, the minister asked for clarity about the selection procedure. He asked why only 60 of the 683 registered were chosen. Gangadin noted that the available location played a role in this. No clear explanation has been given about the selection criteria of 60.
The Biza minister emphasized the importance of transparency in the selection. In this context, he proposed that from now on all names of registered persons who meet the selection criteria should be placed in a bin for a draw. Gangadin added that the management team supports this.
For now, twenty percent of civil servants have a college education. Somohardjo wanted to know what percentage the target is. The management team is working on this. The minister was told by the management team that there are also many dropouts. Evaluation shows that this is due to the inability to combine work and school. The distance to attend lectures also appears to be a problem for civil servants living in remote districts. Somohardjo emphasized that it is necessary to look at how to solve these problems.
Gangadin has also presented the challenges facing the training. These are: location, internet facilities, finances, evaluation resolution evaluation of higher professional education diploma dated February 18, 2020 SB 2020 and COVID-19. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, classes have been suspended since March. Gangadin announced that these will start soon for higher vocational education. However, with regard to the lower courses, these have been discontinued for the time being. Providing lessons via the internet is not an option, because the majority of the students do not have access to the internet.
Regarding the level of the tuition fees, the minister was told that this was set at SRD 1,500. Civil servants can pay this in two installments of SRD 750. Gangadin stated that the tuition fees are largely subsidized by the government. The actual costs are around SRD 8,000.
Two groups of civil servants have already started training in Paramaribo. The first started in 2018. A group of 30 started in Nickerie in November 2019. Somohardjo indicated that the courses are receiving special attention.
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