Tvet: Ogamba calls for more student numbers

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba. [File, Standard]

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has directed principals of Technical and Vocational Education Training (Tvet) institutions to conduct nationwide marketing campaigns with a target of enrolling over two million youth by 2025.

Ogamba decried low enrolment of youths in Tvet institutions in the country and asked principals to liaise with the national government administration officers in reaching out to the youths at the grassroots to enrol in Tvet courses as away of empowering them for improved livelihoods.

Speaking during the 5th graduation of Kitale National Polytechnic on Friday, Ogamba underscored the significant role played by the Tvet sector.

“Despite strives by the government to establish more TVET institutions across the country, the enrollment is still low. I direct TVET principals to conduct a nationwide marketing campaigns to ensure the enrollment of 2 millions youths for next year,” Ogamba said in a speech read on his behalf by one Benard Isalambo.

The CS noted that the government was banking on the TVET sector to spur the industrialisation dreams as well as achieving Vision 2030 goals.

To realize this, Ogamba said, the government was committed to make TVET relevant, competitive and accessible to Kenyan youths.

The CS said the government has been keen to ensure that the sector is responsive to the needs of the modern labour market both locally and internationally.

“Over the past years, there has been significant reforms aimed at ensuring quality, relevance, accessibility and equity in the TVET sector,” Ogamba said.

He said government was committed to creating an enabling environment for technical and vocational training to thrive.

“The implementation of robust policies and framework to regulate and enhance the TVET sector and the reforms by the ministry, including Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) model is designed to produce job-fit graduates meeting the exacting demands of the industry,” he said.

CBET, Ogamba said, ensures that learning outcomes are aligned with industry standards, thereby bridging the gap between training institutions and the labour market.

He said the country has made significant milestones since the launch of Recognition of Prior Learning RPL National Framework.

The framework, the CS said, acknowledges the skills and knowledge acquired through informal and non-formal learning pathways.

“This framework provides a structured process for assessing, certifying and recognising these competencies aimed at streamlining the sector to pave way for an inclusive and dynamic TVET system that meets the diverse needs of trainees and industries,” he said.

To address the human capital shortages in TVET institutions, the government has deployed 2000 trainers through the Public Service Commission this year.