Chapter Overview
This chapter provides a general picture on TVET reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the challenges posed by such reforms in most countries. This is followed by an assessment of the Gambia’s policy development geared towards creating the enabling environment for TVET reforms. A brief account of the development and collapse of the National Education and Technical Training Levy is also provided.
The chapter then explores the objectives of the recently developed skills policy framework for the Gambia (NTA, 2006a) and the concerns outlined in the Consultancy Report (NTA, 2006b) following the launching of the policy document with a view to provide an overview of the current state of affairs in the Gambia. The chapter finally outlined the main questions of the research in relation to the motivational and de-motivating factors influencing employer contribution to the levy.
Backgrounds of the Study
Since the 1990’s, SSA is witnessing an unprecedented era of change in reforms to Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The momentum to change could be attributable largely to the apparent increase in unemployment and general poverty levels amongst most sub Saharan African countries (Human Development Index Ranking, 2007-2008).
It is often common to find in government strategic papers’ citation on skills development as alternative solution to poverty alleviation (Gambia Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: 2007-2011, 2006; Gambia Millennium Development Goals Report 2003; National Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development, 2002). Although it is strongly argued that reforms to skills development as a strategic tool are generally inherent with sustainability challenges.
Despite the challenges, reforms to skills development in SSA have been growing steadily over the last two decades and have culminated in the development of various forms of National Skills Qualifications Frameworks (NSQF). However, majority of such reforms failed to succeed
as a result of lack of commitment from potential stakeholders in meeting their financial obligations.
Financing TVET deserves special attention in a global situation of shortages of public funds.
Across a number of African countries, this new focus has resulted in the development of national training authorities (Johanson, 2001). The idea behind such authorities is that they represent the range of relevant stakeholders especially businesses and can move control of the training system out of the hands of the bureaucracy.
It is believed that such a move makes provision of TVET more responsive to the needs of employers; hence encourage greater employer involvement in training. While, in some of the countries undertaking TVET reforms like the Gambia; financing is secured through the introduction of a levy system. Other countries try to delegate cost intensive practical training to the private sector.
Reform’s to TVET in the Gambia was conceived in the national strategic paper (Vision 2020, 1996). The overall orientation of “Vision 2020” is articulated in its mission statement and it states that:
"To transform The Gambia into a financial centre, a tourist paradise, a trading, export-oriented agricultural and manufacturing nation, thriving on free market policies and a vibrant private sector, sustained by a well-educated, trained, skilled, healthy, self-reliant and enterprising population and guaranteeing a well-balanced eco-system and a decent standard of living for one and all under a system of government based on the consent of the citizenry."
It is apparent that skills development is indispensable if the Gambia is to attain its striving strategic plan, “Vision 2020”. It is therefore important to review government’s commitment to skills development with a view to assess the potential for attainment to this plan. In the “Vision 2020” strategic paper, a deliberate effort was made to outline the role of Education and Training under Human Resource Development (Part 1, section 4) as stated below:
“Since independence in 1965, national development policies have been default focused on the development of human resources in the white collar and peripheral services to the detriment of the areas of Science, Technology, Agriculture and Industry,
particularly the Manufacturing sector. This focus has created a market failure, resulting in the importation of human capital, a dependence on expatriate manpower to manage the development of national productive resources with the result that no firm foundation has been laid over the past three decades to provide for sustainable development”.
The paper went further by stating that:
“Consequently, a proper diagnosis of the skills needed to realize the objectives of Vision 2020 is called for prior to formulating a curriculum that will ensure a capable human resource base to attain the set objectives. Objectives for education include increasing the accessibility of education to 90 per cent of the school-age population, a diversification of institutions to favour vocational and skilled based training, encouraged of entrepreneurship as a corner-stone of education and an overall enrichment of curricula and extra curricula activities to favourably induce the skills-mix of the population towards a 21st Century setting”.
Three (3) years shortly after the promulgation of this paper, a bill was enacted and approved by Cabinet in 2002 for the establishment of an institution responsible for the management and supervision of skills development in the Gambia, now called the National Training Authority (NTA). Initially, the NTA had a subvention from government to maintain its operating costs whilst the National Education Levy was being amended to cater for the financing of skills development.
The National Education and Technical Training Levy (NETTL) amendment bill was enacted in 2005. The levy was designed to collect 0.25% of annual turnover from businesses employing five (5) or more employees (Levy Amendment Bill, 2005). The NETTL Act was enforced in January 2007; however, it seized operations mid February as a result of an alleged private sector outcry.
It is evident that The Gambia’s “Vision 2020” is committed to achieving its goals and objectives as clearly manifested in its Mission Statement and further buttressed by the long-term strategic plan for Human Resource Development. This commitment was further reiterated by government with the enactment of the NTA Act and the NETTL amendment Act to finance skills
The levy is the life line for sustainability of skills development in the Gambia. The skills development strategy with its multitude of programmes, developed in line with the Education Sector Wide Approach Programme (SWAP) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) will be redundant in the absence of a secure and stable financing mechanism.
A national policy for the development of a system of national skills standards and qualifications for The Gambia, collectively known as the Gambia Skills Qualifications Framework (GSQF) was set out in 2006. This was supported by a four-man team of consultants recruited by the EU to support reforms to TVET in the Gambia. In November 2006, the GSQF was launched and became operational.
It is proclaimed in the GSQF that skills standards and qualifications developed under this policy document are contextualised on the needs and realities of The Gambia by being a simple and sustainable system amongst others (NTA, 2006a). Although, Allais (2007) has argued that in most Sub-Saharan African countries where TVET reforms have taken place; the resultant structures, procedures and systems face serious risk of collapsing, due mainly to sustainability challenges. This view was further buttressed in the EU Consultancy report (NTA, 2006b), noting their serious concerns about Gambia’s ability to sustain the reform process, in particular to secure the necessary funding to lead skills improvement.
This grim picture for TVET in the Gambia was further highlighted in a recent World Bank consultancy report (Johanson, 2008). He indicated that in TVET with reasonable expenditures on inputs such as teaching materials, consumable supplies and equipment maintenance, the proportions are around 50:50 or 60 salaries to 40% non-salary inputs. He however, indicated that in the Gambia the proportions apparently are skewed to salary inputs, with a ratio of 86.3% to 13.7% in 2006.
Johanson (2008) further indicated that little capital investment has gone to TVET, as indicated with the fact that GTTI was unable to benefit under the World Bank-financed Third Education Project. In concluding, he noted that the investment gap for TVET in the Gambia is the highest of any level/type of education as the projected investment shortfalls were 55 percent for tertiary education, 83 percent to secondary education and 62 percent for basic education.
Such imbalance requires urgent and immediate remedy from government if the role of skills development in “Vision 2020” is to be attained.
Purposes of the Study
It is against the above background that the study seeks to examine the factors influencing employer contribution to the levy. The study specifically would assess (1) the motivational and de-motivating factors and employer contribution dimensions based on the demographic dimensions. (2) the influence of the motivational and de-motivating factors on employer contribution to the levy. The results of the study would provide government and other key stakeholders with useful guidelines and suggestions during future levy Act review. The study will highlight the motivational and de-motivating factors most applicable to the Gambian businesses influencing their willingness to contribute to the levy.
Questions of the Study
There are five main questions to the study. The first three questions were designed to assess the independent and dependent variables based on the demographics dimensions. The fourth and fifth questions enquired on the influence motivational and de-motivating factors have on employer contribution dimensions.
1. Do motivational factors have any significant differences based on the demographic dimensions?
2. Do de-motivating factors have any significant difference based on the demographic dimensions?
3. Do employer contributions have any significant difference based on the demographic dimensions to the levy?
4. Do motivational factors influence employer contribution to the levy?
5. Do de-motivating factors influence employer contribution to the levy?
Significance of the Study
Skills development (TVET) typically as noted by McGrath (2000) has not been a fashionable area of study and that the bulk of researches done in SSA were funded by donors in the form of consultancies. From available literature there are very few attempts to assess the factors influencing employer contribution to a levy system through an empirical research process.
It is hoped that the findings of the study will add on to the limited amount of empirical studies conducted in TVET in SSA.
The study provides tangible guidelines to the government of the Gambia in developing appropriate strategies to influence employer contribution to the levy. It also defines appropriate roles of key stakeholders in particular the private sector and provide a realistic and workable mechanism that would encourage employer contribution to the levy in view of the current economic situation. The study will also identify those motivational and de-motivating factors applicable to the Gambia influencing employer contribution to the levy.
Definitions of Terms
Gambia Skills Qualifications Framework (GSQF): an integrated system of nationally recognised qualifications and nationally endorsed skills standards for the recognition of technical and vocational skills, knowledge and competencies.
Qualifications Framework: can be regarded as a coherent structure of standards, levels, qualifications and processes, developed and maintained in a quality assured manner, with the aim of improving, regularising and localising the attainment of occupational skills. It is therefore an important tool in improving the national economy.
De-motivating Factors: major issues of concern to employers that would prevent them from contributing to the National Education and Technical Training Levy.
Employer Contribution: is the annual contribution made by businesses into the levy fund at the Gambia Revenue Authority.
Levy System: a mechanism instituted by law to collect funds from employers to support skills training and development programme.
Motivational Factors: major issues of concern to employers that would encourage them to contribute to the National Education and Technical Training Levy.
National Education and Technical Training Levy (NETTL): is a legislated instrument that requires all private companies employing five (5) or more employees to contribute 0.25% of their annual turnover to support skills training and development.
Pay-roll Levy: is a legal assessment against an employee’s wage bill for contribution to a levy fund.
Turn-over Levy: is a legal assessment against a company’s annual turnover as contribution to a levy fund.
Public Sector: is that portion of society controlled by national, state or provincial, and local governments.
Private Sector: part of national economy made up of, and resources owned by, private enterprises. It includes the personal sector (households) and corporate sector (firms), and is responsible for allocating most of the resources within an economy.
Delimitations and Limitations
The study received technical support from the National Training Authority to successful help administer the data collection process for the pilot study. A budget and staff were provided to the researcher for the administration of the data collection for both the pilot and field survey.
This support was critical to the successful completion of the data collection process.
A poor response rate (23%) encountered during the pilot study was attributed largely to the composition of the Mapping Studies of Industries (MSI) database. The researcher acquired a second population group from the Gambia Revenue Authority. This population group comprised only of businesses that had contributed to the levy during the past three (3) years (2007 – 2009).
This change of population group was anticipated to significantly increase the response rate, but did not take into account of the non-levy contributors whose reasons for not contributing to the levy could be very enlightening. Only the views of the private sector businesses contributing into the levy were included in the study.
A major limitation for this paper is the inability to generalise the findings from the research.
Due to financial constraints, the study was only able to collect data from those businesses within the Banjul and Kombo St. Mary’s Region. Contribution to the levy has financial implications on businesses and such implications vary as a result of the regional differences in economic activities (NTA, 2008). Banjul and Kombo St. Mary’s are located in the hub of business activities in the Gambia and could be in a better position to contribute than those businesses in less economic active regions in the Gambia.