- Monyerero Ward MCA Peter Otachi has pushed for a 50 per cent waiver on TVET enrolment fees to boost low enrolment in Kisii County Village Polytechnics.
- Otachi has said several polytechnics in the county are operating below capacity with fewer than 100 students.
- Leaders have supported the motion and called for increased budgetary allocation to equip polytechnics and link graduates to county projects.
Monyerero Ward MCA Peter Otachi has pushed for a 50 per cent waiver on financial requirements for enrolment at Village Polytechnics in Kisii County to boost student numbers.
Otachi, who is also the Chairman of the Finance Committee in the Kisii County Assembly, moved the motion during a sitting on Tuesday, saying youth enrolment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions remains low despite government sensitisation and investment.
“I say this so that we make conditions possible and wash our hands of blame from any youth who will not have skills for their future sustenance,” Otachi said.
He said several County Government Village Polytechnics, including Nyaburumbasi, Nyaore, Bombaba, Nyansembe, Nyabinyi and Nyakembene, are operating below capacity, with some having less than 100 students.
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Otachi said courses such as plumbing, welding, carpentry, electrical installation, masonry and motor vehicle mechanics are in high demand and can equip youth with skills for the future job market.
He asked parents in Kisii County to sensitise youth on the importance of technical education and encourage them to embrace it.
Supporting the motion, Masige West MCA Jacob Bagaka, who is also the Majority Leader in the Assembly, called for increased county budgetary allocation to the TVET sector.
Bagaka said technical education is the backbone of industrialisation and self-employment, noting that countries like Germany and China developed because they invested in TVETs.
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“Let us allocate more money to this sector. If we equip our polytechnics with modern machines and pay instructors well, our youth will see value. A diploma in plumbing can make a youth earn Sh3,000 a day here in Kisii town, which a graduate with a degree in general arts cannot earn,” Bagaka said.
He asked parents to stop viewing village polytechnics as schools for academic failures, saying skills are now more marketable than certificates.
The motion was supported by a majority of MCAs who asked the County Executive to bring a policy to operationalise subsidised TVET education and link graduates with the County’s tenders and housing projects.
By Enock Okong’o
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