The Principal Secretary (PS) for University Education and Research Amb. Simon Nabukwesi has encouraged young people to consider exploiting career opportunities in agriculture to earn a living.
Speaking at Murang’a University of Technology’s (MUT) Mariira campus on Friday, Nabukwesi said the state is moving towards professionalizing agriculture and enhancing its’ status as a major contributor to development.
“Wananchi have the capacity and with the support of the government, agriculture has the potential for direct provision of self-employment for young people,” Nabukwesi said.
The PS said that agriculture is viable both for food security and for export because Kenya has adequate arable land and rains throughout the year.
“If Egypt, which is a desert is the highest producer of fruits and rice in Africa, we can borrow a leaf from that and do modern and better agriculture,” he stated.
The PS applauded Murang’a University for establishing the agricultural campus at Mariira and added that agriculture is a key sector of the country’s economy.
“The government is funding construction of hostels, libraries and laboratories in universities in order to improve the quality of education,” Nabukwesi said.
Commenting on placement of the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates into universities and colleges, the PS said the KUCCPS portal is expected to be opened for the next two weeks and advised students to visit the portal and select the courses they would like to pursue in universities and colleges.
“Students should check the site and consult their parents and role models so that they can be able to make informed decisions,” he said.
He said the placement results are expected to be out by mid-June so that students can know and prepare for the courses they will be studying.
Murang’a University of Technology Vice-Chancellor, Dickson Nyariki said it is important for universities to have quality infrastructure and equipment to be able to offer quality education.
“The Ministry of Education had given about Sh400 million for the science complex while the National Research Fund gave about Sh50 million that has been used to purchase various equipment,” VC Nyariki said.
“We have also constructed 520-bed hostels at the cost of over Sh 200 million,” he added.
The VC also noted that agriculture needs to be given enough attention so that the country can solve recurrent food shortages.
“There is a need to sensitize young people on the importance of agriculture so that we can improve food security through relevant research and increase agricultural productivity,” Nyariki said.
By Purity Mugo
