• Machogu said the competency-based education and training (CBET) curricula will be anchored on practice and industrial exposure rather than theory.
• He added that a strategic plan was the roadmap that guides institutions towards the realisation of their goals.
Image: MAURICE ALAL
The government has embarked on robust curriculum reforms in the Technical and Vocational Educational Training to address skills gap among the youth.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said the reforms are aimed at helping TVET institutions equip graduates with required skills in the global market.
Machogu said the competency-based education and training (CBET) curricula will be anchored on practice and industrial exposure rather than theory.
He pointed out that the new system provides an effective way to incorporate practical knowledge from industries with theories taught in the classrooms.
He said the government was collaborating with development partners in the introduction of a dual training system where there is 70 per cent industry and 30 per cent theory.
"The shift will focus on training in the industry with the industry and for the industry which I believe will increase the employability of our graduates," he said.
In a speech read on his behalf by TVET Principal Secretary Esther Muoria during the launch 2023-27 Strategic Plan of Kisumu National Polytechnic (KNP), Machogu said the government was committed to upskill TVET trainers and the staff in the institutions.
He noted that the government was collaborating with jua kali associations with a view of partnering in supplying expertise, labour and skills in the affordable housing programme.
This, he said, was in line with the implementation of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), in Entrepreneurship Training, in establishment of common user facilities, in the development of incubation centres, among other programmes.
"The government and development partners have started a public finance management (PFM), leadership and governance training for senior staff in all TVET institutions through Kenya School of TVET," he said.
The CS said the government was in discussion with key institutions to support the re-skilling of trainers in CBET pedagogical delivery and in the practical use of the state of art equipment available in TVET colleges.
He lauded KNP for the launch of its strategic plan and urged the management led by chief principal Catherine Kelonye to embrace it and ensure it is fully implemented.
The launched plan delves into financial resource requirements, resource gaps and resource mobilisation strategies, business process re-engineering to improve customer service, cut operational costs and become a world-class competitor.
Machogu urged the TVET institutions to develop Strategic Plans to help them handle management complexities and help them picture the future of the institutions.
He added that a strategic plan was the roadmap that guides institutions towards the realisation of their goals.
"Strategic plans embody the vision and mission of institutions as well as the goals, objectives, and the strategies to achieve them,” Machogu said.
He stated that the strategic plans equip institutions with the tools to analyse the external landscape, identify potential risks and opportunities, and develop strategies to mitigate challenges and leverage advantages.
"This leads to proactive decision-making rather than merely reacting to external circumstances,” Machogu said.
He asked the institutions to develop strategic plans in consideration to the financial challenges they were facing.
Further, the CS said the government was keen on tapping into the digital interconnection based on the current world market.
He announced that the Ministry of education was partnering with that of ICT and Konza Technopolis in the JITUME initiative to ensure that youths can be equipped with digital skills to help them get online jobs.
Under the partnership, youths are issued with Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) to the TVET institutions to help them get online jobs after training.
He said the ministry was committed to climate change mitigation through championing greening of the TVET initiative.
The TVET institution has been mandated to plant 600 trees per year and also to have tree nurseries (species suitable to their specific regions) to supplement the government’s efforts to address climate change.
In Kisumu National Polytechnic, 1,800 trees have been planted towards the initiative since January.
Machogu called for a collective responsibility to mitigate the effects of climate change as per the President’s directive to plant 15 billion trees to address climate change in the country.
On her part, Dr Muoria commended the dual training system citing it as a key driver in revolutionising the TVET sector and boosting the output of the young workforce.
She said the new training system will enable trainees to acquire work ethics and learn the culture of the workplace in the process of learning the needed skills.
Dr Muoria said government seeks to leverage the global space to establish a dual training system with companies in foreign countries to develop a local workforce whose skills are aligned and meet international standards.