A chief in Embu has launched a major campaign to mobilize school leavers to join technical and vocational training courses instead of falling into Muguka/Miraa trade and abuse.
The Senior Chief Ronald Njeru of Mbeti location is working with elders across the entire location to identify and collect data on those who qualified to pursue courses but have entered the now low paying khat trade.
Talking to Education News at Kiamuringa Chief’s Camp, the administrator also asked parents to encourage their children to register for the technical courses, noting that they earn them good wages.
“You should not waste your time in Muguka business but join technical and vocational colleges where government sponsorship is available,’’ said Njeru.
He warned that the location and Embu County in general risked being left out of bursaries and government capitation available for school leavers joining colleges because of the growing disinterest in technical courses.
Technical skills, Njeru said, have gained importance in the work place both locally and abroad, yet thousands of school leavers from the region are wasting away in alcohol and drug abuse.
The senior chief insisted that awareness creation rests in churches and public forums.
“Let us have the information even in churches so that all can be involved in marketing the courses,’’ he said.
While various organisations led by professionals and scholars from the county have been marketing various careers and courses, the number of schools leavers entering colleges has been low.
The number of those qualified in such skills as plumbing, wiring and painting, among others, has been dismal, forcing contractors to engage people from outside the county to work in various construction sites.
By Robert Nyagah
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