For a long time, learning in technical and vocational institutions has largely been hindered by a lack of equipment.
As of May, out of 238 TVETs, 70 still did not have equipment, former Education CS Ezekiel Machogu said in May.
That narrative is changing. And just like the transport sector, China is leading the way in reviving the institutions one machine at a time. This is noted in a study published in a Chinese peer review journal called Frontiers of Education in China.
“The results show that the Kenya-China TVET Project has improved Kenyan TVET classrooms with modern equipment to meet industrial standards and allowed essential skills to be developed through various collaborative opportunities with Chinese corporations,” the research says.
Perceived as forgotten for decades as the key machines and equipment in their labs wastes away in rust and dust due to no maintenance and disuse, technical institutions were largely shunned by would-be learners and considerable premium placed on university degrees.
But the at the turn of the decade, government bureaucrats noted the challenge of the burgeoning youth, a fraction of whom have attained university education while the majority are left behind without any technical tertiary education.
The frantic drive to revive TVET education started in earnest. Partners were mobilised to tool up the institutions and reskill the trainers. They were also to catch the attention of the tech-savvy youth and invigorate their interest in the trainings as a viable avenue for earning a living.
China has been the constant factor in this pivot, providing the necessary partnerships with the government to enable it access the equipment and the skills upgrade needed for the invested focus on quality of learning in the technical institutions.
The reforms seem to have borne fruits. President William Ruto says there are now about 350,000 students in the institutions.
In fact, he said, some 9,000 students who had secured university admissions opted for TVETs rather than pursue degree programmes. said, some 9,000 students who had secured university admissions opted for TVETs rather than pursuing degree programmes.
In 2021, the government launched a reskilling programme targeting about 3,000 tutors at various TVET institutions across Kenya for refresher courses as part of new reform strategies.
The reskilling aimed to elevate the quality of teaching and training at the institutions and match them with the current trends in the rapidly dynamic job market.
Then came the part of brick and motor — constructing TVETs in most constituencies to bring them closer to the communities.
TVET principal secretary Esther Muoria says the curricula for the institution were also recalibrated to align them with the skill-oriented vocational training.
Early evidence suggests benefits brought by the project, including increased self-employment, a growth in Kenya's manufacturing and more mutual understanding between the two countries
ECONOMIC, DIPLOMATIC GAINS
The Chinese support to the institutions is part of the country’s Belt and Road Initiative, which had a sub-focus on the technical training deficit in the country.
The journal study says Beijing’s sustained funding of the reforms in the TVET sector has been a boon for the country’s youth in the broader agenda of lifting people from poverty.
The study explored the impact of the BRI on improving vocational education quality and employment rates in Kenya through the TVET project.
To premise the ideation about TVET education properly, the journal says it was crucial to have the lived reality of the teachers and students. Hence, the researchers collected, collated and analysed the opinions and narratives of teachers and students.
Despite minor challenges and obstacles, it says, early evidence suggests benefits brought by the project, including increased self-employment, a growth in Kenya's manufacturing and more mutual understanding between the two countries.
Muoria is the one leading the government charge in the revival drive, charting every partnerships possible to source equipment worth billions of shillings for the institutions as well as funding to oil their operations.
In a recent interview, she said she will travel to China later in August to follow up with Avic International Holding, the corporation that has been the Chinese face in the equipment supply, to source for more.
The corporation is a global shareholding enterprise affiliated with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.
“Despite the budget realities in the country, the President has allowed me to travel to China for two weeks to follow up with Avic on the machinery we need in the equipping drive for the TVETs,” she said. The partnership is on its third phase.
Muoria says the ambition of the state for the TVETs is “to ensure that our young people are skilled and able to earn a living to support themselves and their families”.
The PS says the national polytechnics are now assessment and certification centres, where trainees can get certified within various periods of their choice to enable them continue with their industry needs.
MODERN EQUIPMENT
In July last year, Muoria announced the ramped-up partnership with China for the upgrading of TVET learning in the country.
At the time, the PS Muoria said 154 TVETs have been equipped with modern training equipment as a result of the continued partnership.
“We are about to sign a commercial agreement with Avic International to bring in the third phase of equipment in TVET institutions to enable real-time training of students,” she said.
“We want to get our country to the next level of development, and empowering our youth at the TVET level speaks to our agenda of skilling.”
Muoria says getting equipment from Avic is crucial because the reforms in the TVET education are solely premised on offering practicality to students and making them ready for the industry on day one after schooling.
Training has not been divorced from the industry, she said. The machines in the TVET labs proffer 50 per cent practical training, and the remainder is met by industrial training.
“The trainers have been crafted into the Kenya School of TVETs to ensure that the learners get more practical rather than theoretical content only,” Muoria said.
Thanks to the Chinese partnership, she says, equipment is now available.
The China-supported supply of the machines, the PS says, also comes with easily accessible maintenance and repair support.
“The Avic team are readily available on call to help in case the machines have some faults or the trainers have difficulty navigating them given that most of the equipment are still configured in Chinese language,” she said.
In March, during the TVET@100 centenary celebrations in Nyeri, Ruto announced that Beijing was giving Kenya Sh13 billion to fund fitting up to 70 TVETs with modern equipment.
He said he negotiated the funding during his visit to the Asian country in 2022.
“On my way here this morning, I received the good news from our friends in China, who have offered Sh13 billion to equip 70 TVETs. The news is great because if education is the key, TVET is the master key,” he said.
EARNING WHILE LEARNING
At the institutions, the machines are wheezing on, and the students handling them cannot stop dreaming of working for top-tier companies given the skillsets they are honing.
David Kimani, the head of mechanical engineering at the Kenya School of TVETs, says the latest batch of machines his departments received has not only renewed the vigour and interest of students in committing to their courses but also made learning easy.
The school trains trainers, who then get dispatched to various TVETs.
“The machines have brought industry to the institution, enabling the trainers to experience reality in their daily learning and hence acquire the readily applicable skills,” Kimani said.
The machines are for the mechanical and mechatronic departments.
Kimani still pleads for more support to the institution with more machines, especially to other departments.
Catherine Kiio, the deputy principal in charge of academic affairs at Kasarani TVET, also has praises for the Chinese partnership.
Equipping her institution with the machines has enthused learners and made them productive, she said.
“Right now, thanks to the practical skills already acquired by the learners, they are already plugging in to the housing programme,” she said.
“They are fabricating doors, windows, gates and other beams that are needful in the housing projects, earning some income meanwhile.”
David Wanjawa, who trains diploma and certificate students at Kasarani TVET in mechanical automotive engineering and welding, said Avic International fitted his workshop with new machines, including engines, and it has made teaching easy.
“The students can see the fuel systems of cars, the braking systems and the operation of the engines, and it is easy to teach them diagnostics approaches and how to repair and maintain cars. This will see professional mechanics churned out to monetise their skills,” he said.
“The machines show the students what they should expect when they launch into the real market.”
Vitalis Wangila is the dean of trainers at the institution, and he is in charge of Jitume lab, which mainly teaches students online and digital jobs.
“As they train, they are earning,” he said, praising the state for the digital superhighway that the ICT ministry has been passionate about.