As many students are set to join universities and colleges after last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams, the Principal Secretary (PS), State Department for Technical, Vocational and Training, Dr. Esther Muoria, has announced that the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions across the country are ready and have enough capacity to absorb large number of students opting for technical courses.
The PS encouraged students who did not attain the minimum grade required to join universities not to lose hope, but to consider joining technical colleges, to gain skills that will enable them to become self-employed in future.
“We want to send a message to students that TVET institutions are the way to go because we want to have people who are technically trained, well-polished, to be able to do whatever task required of them, should it be plumbing, welding and all other technical areas,” said Muoria.
“We want to encourage them to come to us and nobody should look at themselves as if they are failures, nobody is a failure. The willingness to be able to push yourselves to the next level is what is important,” she explained.
Dr. Muoria pointed out that under the Competency Based Education (CBC) Training curriculum, the TVET institutions are ready with experienced trainers, well equipped laboratories, where they have been able to innovate.
She added that they had been encouraging them to become income generating centres through selling of their own manufactured goods and services.
“Like for hospitality, you go to many of the institutions and you are able to sit down in a very nice environment and be able to be served food, and in that way, we are generating income,” said Dr. Muoria.
“The institutions are ready, it is for the students to come over and we are ready and we are going to train them very strategically,” she added.
The PS further urged the TVET managers to be at the lead in facilitating a serene environment in the technical institutions, to ensure students learn peacefully and efficiently.