Stakeholders’ Participation and Enrolment in Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutions in Gulu City
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Date
2025
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Gulu University
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between stakeholder participation and enrolment in Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Gulu City, Uganda. The research employed a cross-sectional design to assess the status of stakeholder involvement, the rate of student enrolment, and the influence of participation on enrolment outcomes and data collection methods involved both interviews and questionnaires. Findings reveal that stakeholder engagement in monitoring and evaluation significantly enhances institutional enrolment, performance, and program relevance. Coordination among government, industry, and schools moderately aligns curricula with labor market needs, though inconsistencies persist across institutions. Planning emerged as the weakest area, with limited strategic alignment, inadequate data use, and siloed stakeholder efforts. Enrolment is influenced by government policies, economic factors, and community participation, while infrastructure, gender policies, costs, and stigma were less decisive than anticipated. Management practices, including Management by Objectives (MBO) and Result-Oriented Management (ROM), showed mixed effectiveness. While ROM frameworks, particularly monitoring and evaluation, were recognized as functional, gaps in funding staff capacity, and governance limited their full potential. Statistical analysis demonstrated a strong and significant positive relationship (r = 0.624, p < 0.01) between stakeholder participation and student enrolment, indicating that meaningful engagement enhances institutional enrolment attractiveness and responsiveness to skills development and labor market demands. The study concludes that stakeholder participation is a critical driver of program quality, relevance, and enrolment outcomes, but its effectiveness is constrained by ineffective participation through uneven resource allocation, weak planning, and inconsistent policy enforcement. Recommendations include strengthening structured stakeholder engagement frameworks, institutionalizing data driven decision-making, increasing industry representation in governance, developing a centralized labor market information system, for enhancing students’ enrolment in TVET Institutions and the implementation of strategic plans and government policies. Capacity building for institutional managers on MBO practices and participatory governance is also advised to ensure measurable outcomes. These interventions aim to improve enrollment, and overall stakeholders’ performance of TVET institutions in Gulu City.
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Keywords
Stakeholder participation, student enrolment, TVET.