• Mwakima advised those who have shunned TVET institutions to rethink their stand saying TVETs act as a career path and one can study even to doctorate levels.
• Currently, TVETs offer only diploma and higher national diploma qualification.
Image: FILE
The government has signed memorandums of understanding with several foreign countries to offer scholarships to TVET trainers to pursue graduate courses.
State Department for Vocational and Technical Training PS Margaret Mwakima said that China, Canada and Germany are among the countries that have come on board to offer scholarships.
“Australia we are just about to sign an MoU with them to train our practitioners to get them to graduate levels. We have also some that have gone to Canada to advance their training capacity. There is also an interest with the Finish government and the French have also come on board,” Mwakima said.
She spoke on Monday during Sema na Spoks media engagement hosted by government spokesman George Oguna on the role and mandate of TVETs in the country.
Mwakima advised those who have shunned TVET institutions to rethink their stand, saying TVETs act as a career path and one can study even to doctorate levels.
“You can be able to join TVET from Standard 8 or even Form 4 and be able to progress to even PhD level,” Mwakima said.
"Even if you got a D," she added.
Currently, TVETs offer only diploma and higher national diploma qualification.
The PS, however, said they are developing a Continuous Professional Development Policy on a structured way of the kind of programmes to offer.
During the session, the PS revealed that besides practical skills, entrepreneurship has been inculcated in the TVET curriculum to instil business skills in graduates.
“We are looking at these skills, how can they get them to come up with their own cortege industries or even factories and start production,” Mwakima said.
She said TVETs are also instilling financial, marketing and ICT skills in trainees to enable them to manage their businesses and market their own products after graduation.
Mwakima said as of now, Kenya has 238,000 TVET institutions with a population of 687,000.
“We have TVET institutions that have student populations as high as 17,000 and the lowest stands at between 300 and 500.”
The PS said the government has envisioned having at least one TVET institution in each constituency.
“Only 51 constituencies don’t have TVETS and we are pursuing to progress their establishment in the next financial year,” Mwakima said.