PERAMIHO TRADE SCHOOL 79TH GRADUATION CEREMONY

THE Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA)-Songea Principal Afridon Mkhomoi has advised Peramiho Vocational Training Center (PVTC) management (which is Trade School belonging to the Peramiho Abbey )to start providing diploma programs because it is high time has done so.


The principal made the statement on Friday during the 79th Graduation Ceremony on which 23 graduands in different disciplines were conferred with certificates by him (Afridon Mkhomoi) on behalf of the Director –VETA for Iringa Zone.

He said, for so long now the vocational training center has been providing certificate courses but it is time now that they it should advance so that can provide courses at diploma level.

“Peramiho Vocational Training Center, which is trade school should be upgraded in terms of offering vocational education to at least offering diploma programs……of levels four and five (4 and 5)because it is the pioneer in terms providing vocational education and training to younger people in the country,” he pointed out.

The college has now 82 years old since it was started by Roman Catholic Church missionary in 1928.


However, VETA has promised to give support in both materially and financially to PVTC in its next year’s budget.

Earlier on, Peramiho Vocational Training Center (PVTC) Principal Brother Joseph Mukasa, in his speech read to the guest of honor said the center has a total number of 116 students (44 girls and 72 boys).

He noted that the admission has not taken into account the issue of gender because of lack of resources like girls dormitories, in that, there are a few hostels for girls than boys and posed a bigger challenge to the college.

However, Mukasa has appealed to the government to help the trade school in building more hostels for girls so that in future the school could take up more girls to raise number girls joining the vocational center hence gender balance.

He said the college is aimed at taking 160 students in next intake to raise number from 116 before, adding that so far they have received more than 200 applications from various applicants but this time around they area from outside Ruvuma Region as far as Mwanza Region.

Other challenges he mentioned that vocational training center go through are follows: dilapidated school buildings since they were built a long time ago since 1928 and they need to be renovated and also lack of computers for students who studying computer course, in that it should at least to the ratio 1:1 (One student one computer), because at moment they using more than one student to a one computer.

And also the boarding fee is just too little (200,000/-) that students are paying per year which does not correspond to running cost of the school compared to the cost of living which is too higher.

“The fees (200,000/- per year) are just to small because it integrates also the accommodation and food and stationeries but without the donor support we cannot afford to run the college because the fees we are charge is at a given away price,” said the PVTC principal .

The PVTC was started in 1928 and it is situated at Peramiho Constituency in Songea District, Ruvuma Region and it offers the following courses: carpentry, electricity ( installations), plumbing, computer, motor vehicle mechanics and tailoring and dress making and also in future they will be offering printing press course.