The ongoing curriculum reforms have received a boost following plans by Unesco and the Republic of Korea to fund Technical Vocational Education and Training in Kenya.
The programme code-named BEAR II -Better Education for Africa’s Rise – plans to bridge existing skills gap in the job market.
It will improve teacher training, qualifications and the management of TVET institutions and curricula.
Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang said the programme will cost an estimated Sh155 million. It will change the negative perception towards TVET courses that has seen an upsurge in students who prefer arts based courses.
“Kenyan youth have a poor perception of technical training and most of them avoid taking up courses that ensured they secured skills that the job market required,” Kipsang said.
He said the negative perception is the reason middle level colleges that provide TVET courses are converted to universities as the society perceives university education as more important than TVET.
Kipsang spoke on Tuesday when he received representatives from Unesco and the Republic of Korea at his office in Jogoo House.
