Although students who opt to study at one of the country’s vocational secondary schools are still required to take and pass many of the same core academic subjects, they are also exposed to a greater concentration of technical and vocational subjects. These secondary schools tend to offer technical and vocational instruction in one of five major fields: agriculture, fishery, trade/technical, home industry, and non-traditional courses with a host of specializations. The types of vocational fields offered by these vocational schools usually depend on the specific region in which the school is located. For example, in coastal regions, fishery is one of the most popular vocational fields offered.
During the initial two years of study at one of the nation’s vocational secondary schools, students study a general vocational area. During the third and fourth years they must specialize in a particular discipline within that general vocational area. For instance, a student may take two years of general trade-technical courses, followed by two years specializing specifically in cabinet making. All programs at vocational secondary schools contain a combination of theory and practice courses.