The Government has constructed Technical and Vocational Educational Training (TVET) Institutions across the country to promote access and equity for students seeking professional skills.
The Principal Secretary (PS), State Department of Vocational and Technical Training (VTT) (PS), Dr. Margaret Mwakima said the government has established 26 centres of TVET colleges and National Polytechnics with a focus on skills required in regions where the institutions are located.
Speaking at a Nairobi Hotel, during the World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) 2021 celebrations, where the UNESCO TVET Policies and Training Manuals were also officially launched, the PS said the government has channeled huge resources for the construction of more TVET institutions, supply State-of-the Art training equipment and recruitment of more trainers.
“To deepen access to TVET training, plans are under-way to cluster TVET institutions in order to have a National Polytechnic in each County, a technical vocational college in each sub-county or constituency and a vocational training centre in every ward,” she said.
The Education Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), Hassan Noor Hassan, said the TVET institutions have been equipped with State-of-the-Art equipment and qualified trainers so that trainees can receive quality training and relevant skills.
Noor said the initiative has realized positive changes and increased the number of enrollment in the institutions among students complete secondary education.
“In 2019 about 1,500 students who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCPE) exam and had been placed to various degree programmes in universities opted to enroll in TVET,” said Noor, adding that the number increased to a total of 2,632 candidates in 2020.
The CAS made the remarks, today, in a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), Planning, Eric Wafukho.
“The events of this day provide a unique opportunity for young people to engage in dialogue between Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) organizations, employers, workers, policy makers and development partners,” the CAS added.
The event whose theme is ‘Reimagining Youth Skills for the Present and Future’ and organized by the Ministry of Education in partnership with UNESCO-UNEVOC, is a special day set aside by United Nations to raise awareness on the importance of developing relevant skills required by youth for labor market and self-employment.
Kenya is currently a member of the acclaimed World Skills International, a membership body that organizes the World Skills Competition.
TVETA Board Chair, Prof. Ahmed Ferej, said that TVET Authority has consistently articulated its commitment to the TVET Sub-sector as contained in the National Policy on Education and Training.
“As a sector we have adopted and embraced Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) as the guiding principle for Kenya’s TVET ecosystem and the system requires that all the stakeholders should work collaboratively to develop and implement CBET,” he said.
TVETA has developed the training standards and guidelines for CBET implementation and the objective of CBET is to establish occupational standards, which can be measured.
TVET Authority CEO and Director General Dr. Kipkirui Langat said the Authority has developed training standards, accredited TVET institutions and is continually undertaking quality audits of accredited institutions to ensure that that standards of training is continually improved.
“The Authority is one of the five UNEVOC centres in Kenya that are required to provide fora for knowledge sharing with national and regional institutions and TVET best practices around the world,” he said.
In her remarks, University of Eldoret Vice Chancellor, Prof. Teresa Akenga, said Eldoret University celebrates the resilience and creativity that has been displayed by the Kenyan youth during the Covid-19 despite the significant challenges that have been faced by TVET institutions.
By Hamdi Mohamud
