The Central Organization of Trade Unions secretary general Francis Atwoli has called on the Law Society of Kenya to beseech the courts to drop all charges against Brian Mwenda Njagi.
This is after the Cabinet approved the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) framework on Monday.
Welcoming the move by the Cabinet, Atwoli said the LSK should call on the courts to drop the charges against Njagi and subject him to the various processes as contained in the guidelines on RPL.
The approval by the Cabinet chaired by President William Ruto on Monday sets the stage for the roll-out of the (RPL) which seeks to recognise skills from the informal sector.
“In this regard, COTU (K) calls upon the Law Society of Kenya, in supporting the move by the government to promote RPL, to beseech the courts to drop all charges against Brian Njagi and subject him to the various processes as contained in the guidelines on RPL,” Atwoli said.
Mwenda was on January 9, ordered to present himself at the Muthaiga police station following an arrest warrant that had been issued against him by the Makadara Law courts.
A warrant had been issued by the Makadara law courts after Mwenda allegedly failed to appear in court for plea-taking.
Recognition of Prior Learning is the process used to identify, assess and certify an individual’s knowledge, skills and competencies against prescribed standards or learning outcomes regardless of when, where and how they were acquired.
Atwoli in a statement on Wednesday said the move by the Cabinet to approve the RPL Framework will ensure that thousands of youth, in both formal and informal sectors of the economy acquire a formal qualification that matches their knowledge and skills
This, he said, will help contribute to improving their employability, mobility, lifelong learning, social inclusion and self-esteem.
Atwoli said that despite their outstanding abilities acquired through practical experience, self-study, and non-formal educational avenues, many Kenyan youth often find themselves excluded from opportunities in the formal sector because the system typically prioritizes qualifications from traditional learning pathways.
“RPL is a proven mechanism for recognizing the diverse learning pathways of our citizens and for harnessing the untapped talents that can drive our nation forward in accordance with the Bottom Up Transformation Agenda (BETA),” Atwoli said.
The Cotu boss said as a workers’ rights body, they have for a long time advocated for the application of the principle of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), which acknowledges and values the knowledge, skills and competencies individuals acquire through non-traditional learning pathways.
The approval is part of keeping with Ruto’s administration’s Bottom Up-Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)that is geared towards economic turnaround and inclusive growth.
