A/67/310 often shared and overlapping responsibilities for various elements of technical and vocational education and training among departments and agencies. 1. Promoting social perception of technical and vocational education and training 56. As in the case of the teaching profession, the social perception of technical and vocational education and training, especially in developing countries, is often negative; instead of being a coveted choice, vocational education is among the least sought after. Making such education and training better esteemed is indeed a challenging task. In order to make it more attractive, a system of prizes and awards in the field of technical and vocational education and training could be instituted for rewarding the best performing students, encouraging professionalism and excellence. This is done in China, for example. Incentives for students can be given through the creation of opportunities for the progression of technical and vocational education and training students to higher education (for instance, the 20-25 per cent best performing). 2. Essential objectives in the accomplishment of technical and vocational education and training 57. While underlining the importance of technical education when responding to multiple social and economic challenges, it is always relevant to stress that the essential objectives of technical and vocational education and training are very much the same as the overall objectives of education. These are expressed in article 3, paragraph 3, of the UNESCO Convention on Technical and Vocational Education: “Technical and vocational education programmes should meet the technical requirements of the occupational sectors concerned and also provide the general education necessary for the personal and cultural development of the individual and include, inter alia, social, economic and environmental concepts relevant to the occupation concerned”. 58. Mahatma Gandhi’s saying that “for a person to be truly educated, you had to have a united approach, by training the mind to think, the hands to acquire skills and the heart, for human values and ethics” provides a good illustration of the mission of education, and the place of technical and vocational education and training in the overall education system. Technical and vocational education and training should nurture innovative and creative skills, develop critical thinking and cultivate work ethics with a sense of social responsibility. Therefore, efforts to reform and establish national education and training strategies should aim at “the development of individuals as active citizens by helping them to acquire the knowledge, skills and capacities required to participate in all spheres of social and economic life”. 57 VI. Quality and technical and vocational education and training qualifications assessment systems 59. Widespread concerns about quality education centre on low learning achievement levels, and even usefulness of education for gainful employment. As such, the assessment of a student’s acquisition of knowledge, skills and __________________ 57 12-46486 International Labour Organization, General Survey concerning employment instruments (Geneva, 2010), para. 125. 17