The Bavarian State Government will assist the Gauteng Provincial Government to integrate young people without school leaving qualifications into working life.
Education MEC Barbara Creecy, representing the Gauteng government, met with Emilia Muller, the Bavaria State Minister for Federal and European affairs, on Thursday, 28 July, in Germany to strengthen cooperation between the two provinces. Bavaria is one of the federal states in Germany.
The two provinces have a partnership spanning more than 15 years and signed a renewed cooperation agreement in 2010. During this visit, working groups have been established to provide assistance on economic development, education, public safety and security, training, agriculture and environment protection.
At the meeting, the two provinces signed an action plan to intensify the cooperation agreement with the Bavarian State Government.
The “Don Bosco – Jugend Dritte Welt” project focuses on non-formal occupational training of young people in townships outside Johannesburg and will be run through its project partner Salesians of Don Bosco in Southdale.
Bavaria will support the recapitalisation of Gauteng technical high schools with focus on establishing linkages between schools and the various economic sectors. The Germans will also assist the province to build the capacity of departmental and school management teams to implement technical and vocational oriented curriculums.
A study tour is planned for officials from Sci-Bono Discovery Centre and Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance to study the Bavarian teacher training and up-skilling system. They will promote partnership with the Deutsches Museum to strengthen capacity in maths, science and technology education and science centre management.
As part of the action plan, Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) officials will visit Bavaria to learn about Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises (SMMEs) support and mentoring models with various organisations and institutions. Bavaria would explore the best partner for the Innovation Hub in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) development.
The two governments will exchange experience and knowledge in the field of forensics and ICT in fighting crime with particular focus on the effective development and management of forensic laboratories and advise on crime-scene management for effective processing of samples and prosecution of suspects.
On agriculture, Bavaria will exchange knowledge on farmer training and capacity development for agriculture and food processing. The agreement includes identification of training needs for small farmers as well as development of training and exchange programmes.
The two governments will also exchange know-how in the field of waste management including recycling initiatives, strategies for waste minimisation support and converting waste to energy (biogas).
For more information contact:
Charles Phahlane
Cell: 071 860 4494
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
