The country is celebrating 100 years of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET), and on July 29, all sector stakeholders are marked for a three-day engagement at Kabete National Polytechnic.
The celebrations, which started in March when President William Ruto set off the centenary celebrations with a relay dubbed ‘TVET@100 Torch and Flame’ at Nyeri National Polytechnic, are meant to reflect on 100 years of TVET existence in the country.
The TVET Torch comes to Kabete National Polytechnic after a journey round the country that has run through Mount Kenya, Rift valley, Western, Nyanza, Eastern, Northern, Coast and Nairobi regions.
Themed ‘Making TVET System Responsive to the Fast Changing Global Mega Trends, Labour Market and Societal Needs’, the celebrations also explore concrete approaches to position the TVET sector in relation to enhanced employability, decent work, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning.
The specific objectives of the celebrations are to promote access and participation in TVET and enrich the quality, relevance, perception, stakeholder engagement and participation, and promote governance and accountability.
Historical context
According to a brief concept note prepared by Kabete National Polytechnic, which highlights the manner in which the celebrations are to be conducted, TVET as an art and science began in Kenya long before the arrival of the Europeans.
Kenyans knew how to build their own houses, make agricultural implements, spears, knives, hoes, axes, cooking utensils and pottery. Traditionally, these skills were passed on from parents to offspring within the family or clan through an apprenticeship system.
The coming of the Europeans and the decision to build the Kenya-Uganda railway attracted Indian traders and labourers who, beginning in 1924, were instrumental in the training of artisans and craftsmen at the Kabete Industrial Training Depot.
Christian missionaries brought in technicians and made an effort to train Kenyans in different skills to assist in the maintenance of tools, equipment and services for the railway.
The Second World War brought a greater influx of people, more sophisticated equipment and machinery, and a greater need for training. The army corps was established and recruitment on a very large scale began among Kenyans. There was a need for drivers, motor mechanics, builders, electricians, welders, carpenters and clerks.
The early 1950s saw industrial depots being upgraded to vocational schools and, by the early 1960s, they were further converted into secondary vocational schools.
A major breakthrough for TVET in Kenya was the setting up of a Commission for Higher Education in 1954, whose main recommendation was the establishment of the Royal Technical College in Nairobi.
This institution later became the Nairobi University College and, subsequently, the University of Nairobi. The Mombasa Institute of Muslim Education was already in existence, having been established in 1948 to provide technical and vocational education for Muslim students in East Africa.
It was converted into the Mombasa Technical Institute and later became the Mombasa Polytechnic in 1972. In 1961, the Kenya Polytechnic was established to provide basic craft courses, which were phased out after 1966 following the introduction of similar courses in technical and vocational schools.
Hitherto, there have been 11 national polytechnics in the country, but the government in August last year approved the upgrade of 13 technical and vocational colleges (TVCs) in a bid to establish at least one national polytechnic in each county, bringing the total to 24.
Why Kabete?
As further explained by Shadrack Tonui who is the Principal Kericho Township TVC and also National Secretary General of the Kenya Association of Technical Training Institutions (KATTI), this year marks exactly 100 years since Native Industrial Training Depot (current Kabete National Polytechnic) was established in July 1924.
Tonui traces the roots of TVET to two philanthropic sisters Olivia and Caroline Phelps-Stoke who coined the idea of educating the Negros (black people) in Africa, United States and Near East. It was in 1911 that they established The Phelps-Stokes Fund for this purpose.
Caroline had to bequeath her estate for establishment of Phelps-Stoke Fund. After her death in 1909, Olivia succeeded with the education dream for the underprivileged- the Negro. Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, Hampton Institute in Virginia, Calhoun School Alabama, and Berea College Kentucky were used to train African-American students.
According to Tonui, the Hampton Institute was then described as one of the most successful institutes for Negro education in the world.
Racial divide
Meanwhile, education for Africans in Kenya was in the hands of missionaries in the beginning of the 20th century. Education was racially segregated with different schools and curricula for Africans, Europeans, Indians and Arabs (Muslims).
In 1923, The Colonial Secretary Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, published a paper popularly referred to as Devonshire White Paper. This was in regards to raising solutions to racial conflicts between the settlers and indigenous communities in the Kenya colony. The paper provided room for vocational training for Africans.
Following the publication of the Devonshire White Paper in 1923, the colonial government invited the Phelps-Stoke Fund to undertake a study of the education system in Kenya. The Fund produced a report titled ‘Education in East Africa’ in 1924.
The report invoked the Jeanes idea, which was based on the view that Africans were mainly rural oriented and agriculture-based people. The most far-reaching recommendation was centered on the teaching of industrial education and agriculture as the core basis of colonial African education.
The recommendations of the Phelps-Stoke Commission resonated well with settlers as they saw a ready supply of semi-skilled labour coming out of the proposed vocational schools.
One of the first products of the Phelp-Stokes Commission was the Native Industrial Training Depot (NITD), established in 1924 at Kabete and fully funded by the colonial government.
NITD absorbed demobilized soldiers from World War I to impart them with practical skills for survival.
The construction of Kenya Uganda railway attracted Indian traders and labourers, some of whom were instrumental in training of artisans and craftsmen at NITD.
CPE birthed
Later when Kenya attained independence, it was converted to a national technical school known as Kabete Technical High School, which admitted the top cream of Certificate of Primary Examination (CPE) at Form One.
It also admitted Form 3 students from what used to be referred to as Grammar Secondary School to pursue trade areas such as electrical, plumbing, and mechanical as a gateway to joining technical colleges.
With the change in education system in 1985, from 7-4-2-3 to 8-4-4, the national technical secondary schools were converted to Technical Training Institutes (TTI).
Therefore, Kabete Technical High changed its name to Kabete Technical Training Institute and was mandated to train Artisan, Trade Test, Certificate and Diploma programmes such as Electrical and Electronics, Carpentry and Joinery, Civil Engineering, and Business for Standard 8 and Form 4 leavers of the 8-4-4 system of education.
The aim of the institution was to impart skills to the trainees that would enable them to be either self-employed or join salaried employment in public and private sectors as technical personnel.
Here we are
And as the country is celebrating 100 years of TVET, Tonui notes that the greatest gift we can give to education sector is ensuring that all those eligible to join TVET institutions are admitted in a nearby TVET institution for May 2024 intake.
According to Charles Koech, Chief Principal of Eldoret National Polytechnic and KATTI National Vice Chairman, there is a lot we need to reflect on as we celebrate these 100 years of TVET.
“The colonial descendant – Kabete Vocational Centre – was meant to provide skills specially geared towards the rehabilitating the war veterans. But over the years, TVET has been able to grow,” said Koech.
He noted that with the recent reforms, the uptake of TVET courses has gone up as even those who qualify for university opt for technical training. There are also university graduates who enroll for specific specializations in TVET after getting their Degrees.
“There has been a tremendous change; initially there were perceptions that TVET is meant for those who have failed in national examinations,” he observed. “We are also currently embracing dual training where the trainees are spending about 50 per cent of their time in industry to ensure they are adequately prepared for the world of work.”
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