Tanzanian students attend a Chinese language class at the Confucius Institute at Dar es Salaam University in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Jan. 4, 2021. (Photo: Xinhua)

Johannesburg (People's Daily) - About 400 Chinese and Tanzanian education officials, college teachers and students on Wednesday participated in the online and offline launch ceremony for a vocational education standards program.

The program represents a milestone for China in the international development of vocational education and the first time China will directly develop and revise vocational education standards for an African country on a mass scale.

The Tanzania National Occupational Standards (1st Batch) Review and Development Project involves 43 Chinese vocational colleges participating in the formulation of occupational standards for 54 Tanzanian posts and subsequent personnel training.

The project supports the Project of Development of Occupational Standards and Supporting Talents Training Programs by Chinese Vocational Colleges for Tanzania which was launched in April.

"Occupational standards cooperation can undoubtedly help industries to conduct labor force assessment and improve standards, but most importantly, occupational standards can be further translated into teaching standards, vocational education courses and training programs," Adolf B. Rutayuga, executive secretary of National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, was quoted as saying in a press release. "This would facilitate the development of vocational education and training in Tanzania, lay the foundation for the establishment of new educational standards."

A regulatory framework was needed for vocational education and training, he noted.

Sun Weiping, director general of the Chinese Party of China-Africa (Chongqing) Vocational Education Alliance, was quoted as saying: "We will jointly witness the release and implementation of the first batch of national occupational standard development projects in Tanzania and will further promote the integration of industry and education in China- Africa vocational education and promote the common development of China- Africa vocational education."