• The lawmaker said that Kwale has talents that need support to be realised.
• Zani said they were partnering with public and private sector players to empower women and youths
Image: FILE
Nominated Senator Agnes Zani has launched a campaign to encourage Kwale youths to pursue technical and advanced education.
The Shabaha ya Wapwani initiative being spearheaded in collaboration with civil society groups is aimed at creating linkages to ensure women and youth have access to education and can participate in development.
Zani said they were partnering with public and private sector players to empower women and youths through continuous research, training, capacity building so they get the qualifications to join university. Those unable to do so will join tertiary colleges.
“Our aim is to ensure youths supposed to join universities get their chances and study. There are others who don’t get the letters but they are picked for university studies and so that will be our work together with the civil society groups to ensure they go to school,” Zani said.
The lawmaker said that Kwale has talents that need support to be realised.
“We have to help our youths to nurture their talents by ensuring that they don’t miss out on university and college selections a well as polytechnics,” she said.
She spoke in Diani during a stakeholders meeting on Wednesday. Zani said they plan to have a 400 youths' forum to engage them on education matters.
The forum will seek to know why many youths don’t join polytechnics.
“We want to encourage them to join polytechnics and benefit as front runners so that others can follow in their footsteps,” the senator said.
She promised to ensure policies that favours mothers in need of TIVET education are put in place so the needs of their children are catered for.
“Mothers have nowhere to keep children while studying and so we can intervene in terms of coming up with policies to sort out such issues for the benefit of our people."
Sheikh Hamisi Mwachirumu said many youths have shied away from joining polytechnics because they lack direction.
“Kwale role models have not played their role to help these youths which is an issue we can address as a society. Let us have role models like doctors who schooled in our local primary and secondary schools to come down and talk to the youths,” he said.
Activist Susan Wachao asked polytechnics to develop market-oriented courses that will attract the youths.
Edited by Peter Obuya