Caught between tradition and modernity: technical-vocational education in Brunei Darussalam

Abstract

In the Seventh National Development Plan 1996–2000, the government of Brunei Darussalam has stressed the need to diversify the economy in an attempt to render the country less dependent on oil and gas revenues. Technical-vocational education (TVE) is part of the government's human capital approach to manpower development and is thought to be essential to achieving economic diversification as well as a means to engage more Brunei citizens in the development process. However, judging from recent information divulged by the government, the investment in TVE has yielded low returns. Many Bruneians reject employment in the private and commercial sectors of the economy thus raising questions about the long term viability of government policy. The paper examines the relationship between Brunei's rentier economy and Malay-Islamic values as plausible explanations for the limited success of TVE. The paper concludes by recommending policy options in the education and economic sectors that could conceivably enhance the role of TVE during this period of economic transition.