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Government is working on amendments to the National Youth Service Act to create a fully-fledged department under the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation. The move, according to a Government official, will see all workers, including National Youth Service graduates, being contracted under the Government department.
Addressing delegates during briefing at the graduation ceremony of NYS officers and Mamina Vocational Training Centre students in Mhondoro-Ngezi last week, Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Ministry director for youth development Mr Elias Murinda said the ministry had also engaged its Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development counterparts with a proposal that will see all vocational skills training programmes being standardised.
The proposal also seeks to rationalise the vocational skills training for proper recognition on the national qualifications level.
National Youth Service officials have, since 2001, been working on contract basis while playing a pivotal role in various social platforms, including assisting victims of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani and Chipinge in Manicaland recently.
Mr Murinda said the regularisation of the National Youth Service was at an advanced stage.
“What we have been trying to do is that the National Youth Service be regularised in our structure and become a department,” he said.
“On the Public Service Commission side, we had agreed on that.
“This year, our staff in the National Youth Service have not been receiving salaries since January so we seem to have agreed that they be put in structures. We are just waiting for it to be finalised.”
Mr Murinda said qualifications under the programmes should also be recognised under the national framework.
Online Reporter