The Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Hon. Rosy Sofia Akbar, visited Nukuloa Technical College in Ba earlier this week and met the Head of Campus, teachers and students. The visit is the first in a series of visits planned for all the 15 technical colleges around the country.
In her meeting with the campus staff and students, the Hon. Minister highlighted the critical role of the College in skills development for sustained economic growth and social progress and the need to address the skills deficit in technical skills in various sectors.
Nukuloa Technical College offers National Certificate 2 Level Programmes in Automotive Electrical Engineering, Plumbing and Sheet Metal Works, Carpentry and Agriculture. The campus has a total of 133 students enrolled in 2019 of which 26 are females. This is an increase of 83 students compared to the 50 students enrolled in 2018.
The trend in the number of female students enrolled at the College impressed the Hon. Minister who commended the female students for enrolling in male dominated programmes, a positive indication of girls venturing boldly into the male dominated space and performing equally well or better than their male colleagues.
With an increase in the number of female students enrolled at the campus, from 6 in 2018 to 26 in 2019, the Hon. Minister is adamant that the number of female students will continue to increase.
The first 6 female students enrolled in 2018 have successfully completed the National Certificate 2 Level programme in Agriculture. While waiting to graduate formally in May this year, the students are currently pursuing the Certificate 4 in Agriculture programme at the Fiji National University in Ba.
Meanwhile, of the 26 female students enrolled at the College in 2019, 24 are enrolled in the National Certificate 2 Level Agriculture programme, 1 is enrolled in the Plumbing and Sheet Metal Works programme and 1 is undertaking Automotive Electrical Engineering.
The Hon. Minister stressed the importance of prioritizing education to the female students and encouraged the young women to stay and complete their studies to prove that they are just as capable as their male colleagues in male dominated fields of study.
“Girls shouldn’t be victims of gender stereotypes and should be tough enough to face and overcome obstacles in their educational pursuits”, she added.