- Private TVET institutions want students in accredited colleges to access government loans without discrimination.
- They are also pushing for KUCCPS placement and shared access to publicly funded training facilities.
- The calls came as Word of Faith Community College launched its 2026–2029 strategic plan in Kiambu.
Private technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions have intensified calls for equal access to government funding, student placement and public training facilities, warning that excluding them from State support could undermine Kenya’s ambition to achieve universal transition from secondary school to tertiary education.
The call was made in Kiambu Town on Monday during the launch of the Word of Faith Community College Strategic Plan 2026–2029, where education officials, private TVET managers, industry stakeholders and church leaders said the country must treat skills development as a central pillar of economic transformation.
Dr Ekrah Ndungu, chairperson of the Kenya National Association of Private Colleges (KENAPCO), said private TVETs were concerned that proposed reforms to TVET financing could leave their students at a disadvantage despite undertaking training recognised and regulated by the Government.
She said a TVET funding Bill before Parliament should be amended to ensure that students enrolled in accredited private institutions can access government loans on the same basis as those in public colleges.
“There is no private student and no public student. Every student is a Kenyan,” Dr Ndungu said, arguing that parents of students in both categories pay taxes that finance government programmes.
She said the funding being sought was in the form of loans, rather than free money, and therefore students should not be discriminated against because of the institution they choose to attend.
Dr Ndungu also proposed the establishment of an open self-sponsored placement portal under the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), allowing Form Four leavers to compare and choose between accredited universities, public TVET institutions and private colleges.
She said such a system would give young people greater freedom to select institutions according to their interests while ensuring that those eligible for government financing can access loans irrespective of where they train.
The KENAPCO chairperson further called for a stronger public-private partnership in skills training, particularly in the sharing of equipment and facilities.
She argued that some public technical institutions have expensive equipment acquired through government and donor-funded programmes that is not always fully utilised, while nearby private colleges may lack similar facilities.
She proposed a framework under the Public-Private Partnership law that would allow accredited private institutions to access such facilities through formal agreements.
The arrangement, she said, could also facilitate collaboration between trainers and institutions and ultimately improve the quality of graduates entering the labour market.
Dr Ndungu warned that Kenya risked losing ground in industrialisation if it continued to give insufficient attention to technical skills.
She noted that the original aspiration of Vision 2030 was to build a strong technical workforce capable of supporting industrialisation, arguing that the country now needs to strengthen TVET as it looks towards the implementation of longer-term development plans.
She cited countries such as Germany, China and South Korea as examples of economies that have invested heavily in technical and vocational education to create a skilled workforce.
Kenya, she said, should similarly position TVET at the centre of economic development, employment creation and export of skilled labour.
“The world is not asking for degree holders from Kenya; they are asking for skilled labour,” she said, urging the Government to make TVET a national priority.
She also pointed to the large number of young people completing secondary education every year who do not proceed to university, saying the country must provide adequate opportunities for them to acquire practical and marketable skills.
Ministry backs private TVET role
Representing Principal Secretary for TVET Dr Esther Muoria at the ceremony, TVET Planning Director Priscilla Mungai said the Ministry of Education regarded the launch of the strategic plan as an important milestone in the development of the institution.
Ms Mungai said she was representing the PS at the event and conveyed her greetings to the college’s board, management, staff, trainees, industry partners and other stakeholders.
She congratulated Word of Faith Community College for recognising the importance of strategic planning, saying a clear plan provides an institution with a roadmap for implementing its vision, allocating resources and measuring progress.
She described a strategic plan as a form of institutional “shopping list” that enables an organisation to identify and prioritise what needs to be done.
Reading Dr Muoria’s speech, Ms Mungai said private TVET institutions were important partners in the Government’s efforts to expand access to skills development.
She urged Word of Faith Community College to ensure that implementation of its 2026–2029 plan remains aligned with national development priorities and the country’s skills requirements.
Particular emphasis, she said, should be placed on employability, entrepreneurship, innovation, productivity and inclusive access to quality technical and vocational education.
The PS also encouraged the college to strengthen training through modern infrastructure, appropriate equipment, competent trainers, digital technologies and stronger partnerships with industry.
Such partnerships, she said, would help ensure that training remains practical, relevant and responsive to changing labour-market demands.
College targets growth and digital transformation
Word of Faith Community College founder and director Bishop Thomas Muthee said the institution was established in 2008 partly in response to the large number of young people who had dropped out of school in Kiambu and needed an alternative route into productive employment.
He said the college’s mission was to equip young people with technical skills that would make them employable while also nurturing entrepreneurs and innovators capable of creating jobs.
“We do not just want to produce job seekers. Our goal is to raise job creators,” Bishop Muthee said.
He said technology and technical skills would be critical to Kenya’s future economic growth, urging greater investment in practical education alongside conventional academic qualifications.
Bishop Muthee recalled that when the college was established, parts of Kiambu Town had been associated with drug abuse and hopelessness among young people.
Kiambu DCC Titus Macharia, KENAPCO Chairperson Dr Ekrah Ndungu, TVET Planning Director Priscilla Mungai, Kosiga Mamboleo and Word of Faith Community College Director Bishop Thomas Muthee hold the college’s 2026–2029 Strategic Plan.
He said the church chose to intervene by using education and skills training to transform the lives of young people and give them an alternative future.
He cited the story of a young woman who joined the college after barely completing primary education and trained in dressmaking and fashion design.
After completing her training, he said, she returned to her community and eventually became an employer, creating opportunities for others.
He also cited former trainees who have gone on to secure employment outside Kenya as evidence of the potential of technical education to transform individual lives and communities.
Bishop Muthee said the college was now seeking stronger partnerships with the Government, industry and other training institutions to expand its impact.
Among its immediate requests are support for student placement through KUCCPS, access to government financing for eligible trainees, infrastructure development and collaboration with strategic industry partners.
The college’s new strategic plan, covering 2026 to 2029, is intended to guide its next phase of institutional growth.
Bishop Muthee said the plan goes beyond being a policy document and provides a blueprint for transforming the college in response to rapid technological and labour-market changes.
The plan prioritises academic excellence, increased student enrolment, digital transformation and expansion of infrastructure.
The institution also intends to strengthen its training programmes to ensure graduates leave with practical skills, entrepreneurial abilities and the capacity to solve problems in a changing economy.
Bishop Muthee said the college would retain its Christian identity as a central component of its training model, seeking to combine technical competence with integrity, leadership and responsible citizenship.
“We bring true education to both the hands and the heart,” he said, stressing that graduates should be technically competent while remaining ethically grounded.
The college also appealed to the Ministry of Education and other partners to support expansion of its physical and digital infrastructure.
Among the proposed interventions are additional student hostels, a modern library and learning centre and enhanced digital facilities.
The institution said it wants to develop its digital centre into a youth empowerment hub serving young people in Kiambu County.
Bishop Muthee said the investments would complement the national push for skills development, digital employment and youth empowerment.
He pledged that the college would, on its part, strengthen governance, improve programme quality, invest in trainers and ensure responsible management of resources.
He urged students to take advantage of training opportunities, develop their character, embrace innovation and prepare themselves to become creators of solutions rather than merely seekers of employment.
The discussions at the launch reflected growing pressure for a broader rethink of Kenya’s approach to technical education as the country confronts youth unemployment and demand for skilled workers.
Dr Ndungu argued that Kenya’s economic ambitions cannot be achieved without producing sufficient numbers of technicians, artisans and other skilled workers.
She said the country should examine the institutional and policy framework governing TVET, including whether the sector requires stronger standalone leadership and investment.
She also urged Kenya to learn from African countries that have elevated TVET to a major component of national development policy.
For private institutions, she said, greater collaboration with the Government would not only benefit individual colleges but also help Kenya produce a larger pool of skilled workers for domestic industries and international labour markets.
The launch brought together representatives of the Ministry of Education, private TVET institutions, local administration, the college’s board and management, trainers, students, sponsors and other stakeholders.
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For Word of Faith Community College, the strategic plan marks a new chapter in an 18-year journey that began with a mission to use technical education to transform young lives.
By Felix Wanderi
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