The Ministry of Water has committed to supporting the Kenya Water Institute in dealing with congestion.
Two projects will be undertaken to deal with the increasing number of students being enrolled at KEWI.
KEWI will undertake the construction of the Irrigation and Drainage Complex at Chiakariga Satellite Campus.
A Water Resource Center will also be established at the Nairobi main campus.
Water Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki expressed her concern with the declining standards of governance in the Kenya Water Institute.
Kariuki called on the Director of the institute to work in harmony with the governing council.
"I hereby direct that in the next one month from today, the Governing Council Chairperson and the Director put in place practical mechanisms aimed at restoring good governance,” she said.
The CS said this can be done by creating working teams with clear but inter-dependent mandates to commence the implementation of the KEWI Modernization Master Plan.
The CS has committed to supporting two projects at the institute.
The two projects are meant to deal with the increased number of students in the institute.
In her speech that was read by CAS Andrew Tuimur during the 33rd graduation at KEWI, Kariuki lauded the government for implementing the 100 percent transition both in secondary schools and tertiary institutions.
“There’s increased demand for TVET as more Kenyan youths search for skills that will guarantee them formal employment or self-employment,” Kariuki said.
The graduation saw 1,137 graduates receive certificates of course completion for diploma, certificate, artisan, and other special courses.
Kariuki noted that there is increased pressure to admit more students than the available resources.
“Staffing, equipment for practical and laboratory training, and library facilities at KEWI are obviously overstretched,” she said.
Kariuki commended the institution for the efforts it adopted to ensure learning was in progress during the pandemic.
An E-learning program was put in place that enabled 3,352 students at KEWI to seamlessly continue with their studies.
Starting January 2022, students at KEWI will be able to apply for Higher Education Loans Board loans.
This will enable the needy students to pursue uninterrupted learning sessions.
Eighty-four graduates from the list have benefited from BIWAC, while this year, 24 KEWI students traveled to Israel to pursue specialized training in agriculture.
Ministry targets to increase national access to water from the current 70 per cent to 80 per cent by end of next year (2022) and attain universal access by the year 2030.
Access to urban sewerage will increase from the current 28 per cent to 40 per cent by end of the year 2022 and projected to reach 100 per cent by 2030 in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 6
The area under irrigation is projected to grow from the current 600,000 acres to 815,000 acres to ensure sustainable food security in the country by 2030.