The Ministry of Education is set to deploy 1,300 trainers to Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) across the country in September this year, following a successful recruitment exercise.
State Department for TVET Principal Secretary Dr. Esther Muoria said that the recruitment of trainers had been concluded and the ministry is awaiting a final report from the Public Service Commission (PSC) to begin posting them.
Dr. Muoria made the remarks on Friday when she officiated the closing ceremony of a week-long TVET principals training organised by the Kenya School of TVET (KSTVET) in Kisumu County.
She further confirmed that the State Department for TVET is also committed to ensuring the deployment of deputy principals as part of measures to address the gap experienced in TVET institutions.
PSC had advertised for the TVET teaching vacancies in March 2023, seeking applications from qualified degree, higher national diploma, or diploma holders for vocational and technical trainer positions in 220 institutions across the country.
At the same time, the PS stressed the significance of retraining TVET managers on financial management and governance, which are critical to shaping the future of the institutions.
“Over the past year, the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with KSTVET, has so far trained 1,896 TVET faculty and staff, which is 60% of the target population. The pool of trainees was cross-cutting and well-balanced to include principals, deputy principals, registrars, heads of departments, finance officers, auditors, accountants, human resource officers and facility managers,” Dr Muoria stated.
She defended the new higher education funding model rolled out by the government, saying that it is poised to foster equity in access to TVET and university education.
“The government commits to ensuring that all students are adequately supported in their education under the new funding model so that no one is left behind,” Dr Muoria noted.
She urged the principals to assist the fresh learners in getting admission during the September 2023 intake to enable them to access state sponsorship.
“As we plan to receive the new trainees for the September intake, I direct that a support desk be made available for assisting trainees who are yet to access or complete their applications for the government scholarship and HELB,” she stated.
By Robert Ojwang’ and Feliciah Wanyonyi
