Bid to build 60 technical colleges by June 2015 starts to take shape

Artisans at work in Nairobi on May 1, 2014. The move to build sixty technical training institutes across the country is the first major attempt to boost the number of technicians and artisans in the country. FILE PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Move will be the first major attempt to boost number of artisans in the country after most institutes that used to train the youth were upgraded to universities.
• The Kenyan business community has repeatedly warned that lack of technical skills could slow down the implementation of mega projects.

By RAMENYA GIBENDI
More by this Author

The proposed plan to build sixty technical training institutes across the country by June next year is beginning to take shape.

This follows new correspondence between the acting director of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the Ministry of Education, Mr Samuel Wanyonyi, to Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi.

The colleges are expected to bridge the country’s yawning skills gap and boost growth of local industries.

The project will be funded jointly by the national government and host constituencies through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

It is expected to significantly improve the lives of millions of young Kenyans who fail to meet qualifications for admission to universities or mid-level colleges by equipping them with skills they can employ to generate income.

Some 60 constituencies across the country’s 47 counties, in which the institutions will built, have already been identified.

Priority was given to those constituencies that currently have no such institutions.

CONTRIBUTE SH10M EACH

The identified constituencies will be required to contribute Sh10 million each towards meeting the cost of the project.

The rest of the money will come from the national government through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

(READ: Kaimenyi, MPs differ on colleges)

“The purpose of this memo is to update you on the status of the project and request your approval of the list of 60 constituencies, if you concur,” reads a document prepared by the acting director of TVET in the Ministry of Education, Mr Samuel Wanyonyi, to Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi.

Thirteen counties — Kwale, Bomet, Migori, Marsabit, Taita Taveta, Kilifi, Garissa, Tharaka Nithi, Kiambu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Tana River, Busia and Murang’a — will have two new institutions each, selected on the basis of affirmative action.

The submitted list contains the constituency, proposed name of technical institution and the mentoring institution.

Construction will begin in October. Contractors are expected to hand over the projects by June 30, next year.

The Kenyan business community has repeatedly warned that lack of technical skills could slow down the implementation of mega projects meant to spur economic growth as enshrined in Vision 2013.

The project will be a big boost to the informal sector, which is the country’s biggest job market and a key pillar of the economy.

BLUEPRINT

According to the blueprint, each institution will have a workshop, classrooms and a two-storey office block sitting on at least 5-acre piece of land.

The move is the first major attempt to boost the number of technicians and artisans in the country after most of the tertiary institutions that used to train the youth were upgraded to universities.

Data shows that in 2013, the number of institutions grew by 748, admitting 148,009 students, compared with 324,560 students who enrolled in the country’s 52 universities.