The central aim of Technical and Vocational education and Training (TVET) programmes is to provide graduates with the competences necessary to do specific jobs, and alongside the competences, the certification which assures employers and other stakeholders that graduates have those competences. However, before a learner is certified/awarded a certificate he/she must be assessed. Assessment is organized around assessment criteria specified in the respective curriculum. Assessment helps to determine how much students have progressed in acquiring competencies necessary for their future profession. Assessment also plays a vital role in assuring the quality of education in a technical institution.
Summative assessment, typically a precondition of certification, is therefore a key part of TVET programmes, ensuring not only that job competences are part of a qualification and the taught curriculum, but also that the required competences have been acquired by graduates. Assessment and certification must build on an understanding of particular occupations and the competences they require. Certification usually depends on completion of approved training, as well as an assessment. In the context of technical and vocational qualifications, certification is typically intended to confirm that an individual is occupationally competent. In Tanzania, as in other countries, the confidence of stakeholders in TVET programmes is therefore likely to depend, among other factors, on the quality of assessment systems.
Procedures for examination assessment
The National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NACTVET) has established procedures for assessment in order to maintain standards and quality of NACTVET Awards. These procedures set a common platform to guarantee maintenance of level ground for administration of assessment. Proper application of the these procedures will translate to graduates equipped with requisite technical knowledge, abilities and skills which measure up to acceptable levels of attainment in the relevant professional area.
General Policy Framework for Assessment
The process of training cannot be complete without evaluation. On the other hand, the student’s academic or professional achievement acquired through formal teaching-learning process cannot be complete without effective assessment process. Therefore, the measurement of academic or professional achievement of students is based on their successes in assessment. Therefore, the purpose of assessment is to determine whether students have successfully achieved the learning outcomes and fulfilled the academic requirements of the course and have attained the standard required for the award to which it leads.
In order to produce technical institution’s and vocational training center’s quality output required by the labour market, the need for a General Policy Framework for Assessment was imperative to establish regulations and procedures under which examinations will be administered and conducted to all students in technical and vocational institutions and private candidates. NACTVET has therefore developed the General Policy Framework for Assessment in conjunction with autonomous technical institutions, to establish efficient and effective tools for administration of examinations conducted by technical and vocational institutions and the Council.