We do not provide a postal service to many rural communities let alone broadcast radio or television. We isolate rural populations by investing our educational infrastructure in major urban centres. The link between technical and vocational education and economic productivity of the individual and the work place is well documented. The most productive countries are those that have provided the greatest investment in training the work force. The importance of TVE in enabling people to gain access to employment or to self-employment and participate in society through their economic activity is clear.
Unemployment is at the root of most of the destructive forces in our societies.
Access to TVE is one tool that must be used to address this problem. The drift of young people from rural to urban centres causes a range of very difficult problems from growth of fringe settlements to unemployment and crime. Political instability, natural disasters, and a history of neglect, total destruction of infrastructure and geographical barriers complicate this picture. All of these factors produce a huge immediate demand for vocational education and training, particularly amongst young people. It is not possible to build the institutions to provide the education and training and to train the teachers and instructors, even if the resources were available.