Technical colleges have recorded a 400 per cent increase in enrolment since 2013 due to increased government support and expansion of facilities in all the institutions.
Principal Secretary for TVET Margaret Mwakima said financing through Helb and Sh30,000 allocated by the government to support each student have contributed to rising enrolment.
Mwakima said development partners have also played a role in equipping the technical colleges to enhance training capacity.
“The ministry is also reforming the TVET sector especially the governance structure by building capacity as concerns the management of finance, human resource and internal audit, among other areas,” said Mwakima.
She spoke in Eldoret at a research conference hosted by Eldoret National Polytechnic. She was with Governor Jackson Mandago, chief principal of the college Josphat Sawe and chairman of the governing council Prof Simiyu Sitati.
Mwakima said TVET is a key sector in the Big 4 Agenda and plays a crucial role in enabling youths to gain the necessary training so that they can participate in economic growth of the country.
“Technical training is a key driver in our ambition to make Kenya an industrialised nation,” said Mwakima. She said the government aims to build in each constituency a national polytechnic.
Mwakima said the government is in the process of establishing the Technical Trainers Service Commission, which will take charge of all staff of TVET institutions in the country.
A task force formed by the Ministry of Education is already working on all details and plans to roll out the new commission that has been approved by the government.
Mwakima said the commission will handle all the human resource issues for the TVETs as part of reforms aimed at strengthening the sector.
The PS said online training has been rolled out at most of the colleges to fit into the current situation where Covid-19 has disrupted most learning programmes and other economic activities.
The Eldoret National Polytechnic has increased its student population to more than 17,000 due to a rise in demand for technical training in the country.
Prof Sitati said the institution has expanded its training facilities to accommodate the high number of students.
Sitati said the council is also ensuring quality training for enrolled students through recruitment and further training of its lecturers.
Uasin Gishu county has trained more than 4,000 youths in technical skills through partnership with TVET colleges located in the North Rift region.
Mandago said the training has helped most youths engage in self-employment and take up existing jobs in various sectors in the region.
He said the region has a shortage of welders and artisans for fixing tiles, but the county had already taken the initiative to train more youths.
Edited by Henry Makori
