“The Congress of Vocational and Technical Education in Islamic Countries“ which is arranged for the 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), was held between the dates of 18-20 June of 2009 in Istanbul by Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM).
Expert academicians, known for their several works on the field of education, representing the member and observer countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference which are Bangladesh, Bosnia Herzogevina, Indonesia, Bahrain, The United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Palestine, Iran, Qatar, Kazakhistan, Kuwait, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Republic of Maldives, Malaysia, Mali, Niger, Pakistan, Senegal, Republic of Somali, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Tunisia, Jordan and Yemen attended the Congress which was held in Turkey.
Many participants from high levels of governments such as “ministers“, “deputy ministers“, “undersecretaries“ and “ambassadors“ attended the Congress as representatives of governments. Higher Education Council of Turkish Republic (YÖK), related general directorates of the Ministry of National Education and Proficiency Competence Institute (MYK) were represented in the Congress too. And the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was represented by the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) whose center is located in Ankara.
9 different sessions with the main titles of “The Place of Vocational and Technical Education in Islamic Countries, the Problems and Predictions“, “Vocational and Technical Education Strategies in Islamic Countries“, “The Effects of Vocational and Technical Education on Development and Employment“, “Reform Efforts in Vocational and Technical Education in Islamic Countries“, “Curriculum for Vocational and Technical Education in Islamic Countries; Their Effects and Solution Offers“, “Vocational Education and Social Problems“ were held and 40 academic declarations were presented in the Congress.
Being a “first initiative“ taken in this subject, the Congress of Vocational and Technical Education in Islamic Countries has supplied the opportunity for developing a common vision for the future of Islamic countries in the field of vocational and technical education through mutually conveying the experiences and acquisitions which Islamic countries have had so far.
1. It is an urgent must for every related public and/or private actors and sectors to make their capacity politically, administratively, intellectually and economically more functional in every aspect possible. Because while each individual with no professional formation is unhappy in his/her own life, he/she prevents the sustainable development opportunities of his/her public.
2. In vocational and technical education, it is beyond discussion that a planning and development that will enable gaining information and ability for the requirements and priorities of the business market through sliding from supply oriented approaches to demand oriented approaches is necessary. Taking into consideration the transformation of Islamic countries towards information economies and the economic ambiguities lately seen in the world too often, there is clearly a need for more effective and consistent national or international policies and implementations.
3. Vocational and Technical Education and Training Program for Islamic Countries, which was designed by the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) and proposed to the 24th session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of Islamic Countries (ISEDAK), and accepted by the member countries, has to be actively participated by related institutions of Islamic countries.
4. In order to increase the process of mutually benefiting from the acquisitions and experiences in the field of vocational and technical education in Islamic countries; there must be a cooperation between universities established by the Organization of Islamic Conference in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Niger and Uganda and the private and civil universities and vocational and technical educational institutions in Islamic countries, programs such as ERASMUS shall be developed by providing the opportunity for academicians and students’ exchange, the numbers and capacities of common educational funds in Islamic countries shall be increased and successful students shall be provided scholarships and other educational opportunities.
5. In the reality of global economies, it is very important to create permanent study groups and/or task forces in order to develop and implement long term humanitarian development strategies in subjects such as “developing curriculum“, “planning and managing school systems“, “accreditation“ and many similar common problems of the vocational and technical education and training.
6. In order to improve humanitarian development, which is now a common problem of many developing Islamic countries, and become leader countries of the world in this subject, educational policies have to become totalitarian and integrated in structure and related structure and processes have to be transformed by supplying multilateralness in the implementations.
7. Vocational education and courses shall be encouraged, strong infrastructures must be established in order to get everyone take vocational education with no gender discrimination.
8. Western countries which has gained success in the subject of vocational and technical education have to be benefited from as much as possible.
9. There must be a cooperation and coordination between governments, employers, business associations, chambers, trade bodies, universities, unions, private and public institutions so as to develop vocational and technical education.
10. The numbers and capacities of common vocational and technical educational funds have to be increased in Islamic countries, new vocational and technical opportunities have to be provided to the education systems by these funds.
11. The understanding of “Everyone shall graduate from universities“ must be taken place by the understanding of “everyone shall have a profession“ and consultancy activities have to be focused on with the aim of popularizing this understanding.
12. A quality awarding system must be built in Islamic countries.
13. The development of vocational and technical education is directly proportional to global competitiveness power. Government programs must take new targets including necessary activities in order to increase the rate of vocational and technical education in Islamic countries compared to general education.
14. In Islamic countries, a complete planning of the economy policy dependent to the development program of the country and vocational and technical educational strategy dependent to this policy will lead the policy to its the goal.
15. “Professional Competence Standards“ must be popularized in Islamic countries through comparing research-development, skills needs analysis and professional competence standards.
16. A common accreditation institution must be established between Islamic countries.
17. Banks in Islamic countries shall financially support the projects in the field of vocational and technical education.
18. A “Platform for Vocational and Technical Education in Islamic Countries“ shall immediately be established and a communication network (internet portal) of this platform shall urgently be actualized in some certain languages.
19. The Organization of Islamic Conference and some leading countries of Islamic geography must receive funds to some Islamic countries such as Somali which needs technical and financial support.
20. The development of “Human Resources“ plays a key role in the social transformation and economic improvement. Vocational and technical education is one of the most important components of the development of human resources in developing countries where especially the young population is high. Encouraging young people with vocational and technical education will be helpful in canalizing them to the benefit of public and their own.
21. Islamic countries have different levels in education and training; for this reason the Congress of Vocational and Technical Education in Islamic Countries is a big opportunity to create bigger cooperations in the field of vocational and technical education for mutual benefits.
Final Declaration of “The Congress of Vocational and Technical Education in Islamic Countries”
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