The government is revamping the country’s Technical, Vocation Education and Training (TVET) system in order to meet the growing industry and labour market needs.
According to Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu, TVET is a powerful tool to prepare the youth for the labour market and provide lifelong learning opportunities for adults, hence the need to provide strong training space for young people.
Speaking during the 6th Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) conference at a Nairobi hotel yesterday, the CS stated that the 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school, capitation for students who enroll in TVET institutions, rebranding of TVET, and support for Special Needs TVETs had led to massive enrollment of students into the TVET system.
He said the support of the government for TVET and the interest by students had outstripped the capacity of the current infrastructure, equipment and support facilities to meet the training needs of the students.
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Machogu disclosed that the current enrollment into TVET institutions is 389,962 students against 7,133 trainers, adding that the enrollment has outgrown the recommended ratio between trainers and trainee of 1:20.
He said we now have a ratio of 1:55, the government having recruited 2,000 trainers as part of a continuous process to address the imbalance, noting further that it was reviewing the legal framework to streamline the management of technical trainers and to harmonize their schemes of service.
Present during the panel discussion included Chair of PASET Governing Council and Rwanda’s Minister of State for Education Claudette IRERE.
African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Division Manager for Education, Human Capital and Skills Development Hendrina Doroba said African governments should give top priority to the development of TVET institutions in their respective countries.
She said countries should set their own agenda on development and ask development partners to support them.
The forum attracted the academia, industry and governments across Africa to discuss the future of skills, education and entrepreneurship on the continent under the theme “Leveraging Technical, Vocational and Technical Training (TVET) in the Knowledge and Skills Ecosystem for Africa’s Industrialization”.
By Education News reporter
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