Moving beyond the colonial single-track education for food system transformation towards sustainability

This chapter examines how higher education and vocational training can come together as a dual-track education embracing humanist pedagogy to train a new generation capable of leading food system transformation using a country case study of Nepal. The case study unveils the influence of colonialism on education, which is evident in the establishment dates of major universities, although the narrative is that the country has never been colonised. Analysis of five technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programs in food, agriculture and forestry revealed a notable lack of food system sustainability concepts in the curricula. The curricula did not adequately cover the sustainable food system transformation and the Sustainable Development Goals. This chapter concludes that a dual-track postsecondary education where TVET offerings can incorporate sustainability concepts and provide a seamless transition to higher education, removing the widely held stigma that vocational training is only for low-achieving students.