By Musyoka Kaliti
Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji is pushing for a review Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Act to further strengthen the institutions and increase their funding.
He said the institutions are key to skills development hence their focus on specific occupations which are in high demand in job market.
Mukunji said that TVET institutions are major players in the economic growth of the country, but without maximum support they cannot achieve much.
“Technical institutions are the game changer and a big player in the economic growth of the country and as a legislator I will always stand for these institutions to have enough capitation so that they can run their affairs of equipping our learners with skills smoothly,” he said.
Speaking during the closing ceremony for TVETs drama and film festivals at Kigari Teachers college, Mukunji said his office will support students who will pursue technical coursed in the institutions.
The first term legislator called on the youth to develop interest in technical and vocational institutes so that they can have an opportunity to acquire requisite skills and knowledge that can land them instant employment.
On TVET institutions facing teachers’ deficit, the MP called on Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to hire more and deploy them to the institutions to address the challenge.
Mukunji also urged parents not to fear taking their children to the institutions saying this may jeopardize the progress of the youth and also kill the institutions.
“The uptake of TVET education, especially here in Embu is not impressing, my call to parents is that the future of the youth is in these institutions and we should take our children there,” he said.
Peter Kaume, Chairman of Kenya Association of Technical Training Institutions (KATTI) in Mt Kenya West said there was need for the government to put up adequate infrastructure in TVET institutions, saying right now most of them cannot host drama festivals or sports.
“We have no institution in technical education that has infrastructure to host events like sports and drama, we urge the government to consider coming up with a proper mechanism to address this so that we can be able to host these events on our own without depending on other institutions,” he said.
Several winners were awarded with trophies for their exemplary presentations they made.
