Stakeholders in the education sector need to join hands to ensure an improved learning environment in schools across the county.
Speaking today in Cherangany after commissioning a modern abolition block at Sitatunga Vocational Training Center, the County Director of Vocational Training, Mr. Eliud Lusweti, said it’s only through a combined effort that the sector will realize its potential.
While applauding the Grace Foundation trust Kenya, which funded the construction of the facility, Lusweti said that through the improved infrastructures, standards of education will be boosted and the county will be able to achieve its set goals.
“There are many partners who want to collaborate with the county on TVET training, Grace Foundation Trust Kenya has rolled out this initiative to help us improve the learning environment in the institutions,” he said.
Mrs .Grace Karanja, the founder of the Grace Foundation Trust Kenya in partnership with Hand Progress Germany, said there is a need for partnership between the government and non-state actors in the counties in support of the development of TVET facilities across the country.
Mrs. Karanja said statistics indicate that there is a shortage of toilets in public schools across the country, saying there is a need for stakeholder partnerships to improve the toilet-to-child ratio in learning institutions.
She said she decided to roll out the initiative of constructing sanitary facilities in schools after discovering that learners were suffering owing to a lack of adequate lavatories, saying she experienced the same situation 20 years ago that she said affected her performance.
“During my time at the Mukuyu primary school, those years, we had a challenge of poor sanitary facilities, and the situation forced us to stay without visiting the toilets until we broke for lunch, and that’s the reason I’m giving back to my community.
“We must curb the spread of typhoid and cholera, among other diseases, “Through the foundation, we have put up a modern abolition block with fourteen units and an extra provision for a bathroom for girls connected to piped water for hand washing, “said Mrs. Karanja.
Grace Foundation Trust Kenya has already constructed three sanitary facilities at Mukuyu Primary School, Mukuyu Girls High School, and Sitatunga Vocational Training Center.
Speaking at the same event, area MCA Simon Murei urged the county administration to launch a program that will sensitize the youth on the importance of technical skills, saying the wrong perception that VTCs are for failures has immensely affected enrollment.
By Kosuri Valarie
