The Government will reduce fees for middle-level training institutions to accommodate more students.
The Sh65,000 charged annually is high and locks out many students, State Department of Vocational and Technical Training Principal Secretary Kevit Desai said.
“We only have 180,000 students in colleges now yet we have a capacity of 3.1 million. We must strive to accommodate more students in the system,” said Dr Desai.
He said talks were underway to cut the cost of training to rates that were affordable for most Kenyans.
And some 4,000 tutors will be removed from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) payroll as the Government creates a new service scheme for technical institutions.
Desai said all trainers currently teaching in vocational and technical training institutions would no longer be recruited by TSC under the new arrangement.
They will fall under the Public Service Commission instead.
“Currently these trainers are sourced, retained and promoted by TSC. This will no longer be the case as we create independence structures to promote high-level quality of training,” Desai added.
He said competency-based training would attract trainers from the private sector to give the right balance and flexibility.
“These are some of the high-level reforms we are instituting to promote quality assurance and governance of the institutions and link graduates to small and medium entrepreneurship,” Desai said.
The PS said the ministry was revising the unit cost of training in all vocational and TVET institutions with a view to lowering fees.
Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed ordered the placement of 500,000 students who scored below C+ in TVET colleges.
Amina directed the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service to carry out the process as it emerged that only 28,866 students applied to join these colleges.
Yesterday, Desai said the Kenya National Qualification Framework would be gazetted this week, opening more pathways for students.
Under the framework, the Government plans to lower the diploma cut-off points to C–.
The regulations are also set to lower diploma teacher training cut-off grades to C plain. Currently, teachers wishing to pursue diploma courses must score C+ and above.
Kenya National Qualification Authority chairman Wanjala Kerre said a meeting with TSC agreed that teacher training colleges admitted trainees with C plain.
This mean that all candidates who score C– and C will be eligible for diploma courses.
