By Edwin Echwa
Lodwar Youth Vocational Training College has become one of the most sought after institutions in Turkana County thanks to devolution that devolved all functions of the Vocational Training Colleges to the county governments.
The institution currently boasts of 297 students doing various courses unlike the past years when it had no students.
Daniel Kiyonga, the centre manager said that previously, the Turkana community didn’t recognize the institution as important hence the few enrollments.
‘Turkana students and residents never recognized the Youth polytechnic as an important institution. They argued that the institution offered useless courses and that it was for the illiterate. The few students who have trained here came from Kitale, Eldoret and Western Kenya,’ he said.
Despite the low enrollment, the national government posted instructors to the institution.
Kiyonga was posted at the institution in March this year.
The Turkana County Government and Tullow Oil Lundin Foundation pay fees for all the 297 students through education bursaries as a way of encouraging those who dropped out of school due to pregnancies and early marriages to continue their education.
The institution admits ’O’ level students and below. Those with “O” level qualifications sit for Kenya National Examination Council Exams (KNEC) but those without sit for National Industrial and Training Authority Exams (NITA).
The county government has employed 15 tutors and 7 support staff at the institution while the institution itself has employed 8 tutors to complement the county staff.
‘Most of the staff and support staff are employed by the county government under the county’s ministry of education. Only 8 tutors are employed by the Vocational Centre Board of Management” said Kiyonga.
Kiyonga added that the county government has also improved the infrastructure in the school and that the number of courses offered has increased.
Among the courses introduced since the county government took over are Fashion and Design courses, Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy, Catering and Food Processing courses etc.
The centre also plays a key role as an examination centre for other private vocational institutions like Swiis Contact of Kakuma whose 58 students will be sitting their trade exams at Lodwar Vocational Training Centre this year.
Kiyonga revealed that to cater for the increased enrollment, the county government added one block for a hairdressing class, a library and a masonry shed. On the other hand, Tullow Oil Company, Lundin Foundation and Africa Oil built a one storey workshop for training electricians and a computer lab. They have also built a catering and hotel class and 5 prefabs to be used as classes for oral learning.
‘Turkana is a first developing county due to the discovery of underground oil and water. The industry will have so many opportunities for skilled labor like masonry, electricity, plumbing, carpentry and many skilled mechanics and therefore this has attracted a lot of enrolment in these courses.’ Kiyonga said.
150 students from the institution are currently on attachment and will be reporting back to the institution in March 2022 to finalize on their courses.
Those who sit for their final exams will be awarded certificates in the Trade Test of Grade 1 up to Grade 3.
The centre manager added that many girls have started to enroll into courses that were predominantly for men. So far, 2 ladies are doing a grade test in Mechanics, 6 in Welding, 2 in Plumbing and 2 in Electrical courses.
The Lodwar Youth Vocational Training College was established in the early 1970s as a youth polytechnic under the name Lodwar Youth Polytechnic (LOYOPO) and was first operationalized in 1976 and headed by a white man as the first centre manager.
The polytechnic was built by the Norwegian Government and handed over to the National Government for management to train the under privileged youth who could not access formal education to acquire skills.
Among the skilled training offered then by the polytechnic were trade tests in courses like Masonry, Electricity, Carpentry, Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Plumbing and Piping and Welding.
