President William Ruto announced yesterday that the Chinese government has been offered Kenya Kes.13 billion to equip Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions in the country with state-of-the-art equipment..
Speaking during the TVT@100 Centenary Celebrations at Nyeri National Polytechnic, President Ruto stated that the funds follow his visit to China last year.
“On my way here this morning, I received good news from our friends in China who have offered Sh13 billion to equip 70 TVETs.
“The news is great as we celebrate 100 years. This is because if education is the key then TVET is the master key,” Ruto said on Tuesday.
The President emphasized that the government is strengthening technical and vocational education to enhance the country’s capacity to offer practical training, President William Ruto has said.
The objective is to use the power of technical vocational education and training (TVET) to push the potential of young people to positively contribute to economic growth.
He pointed out that the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) was designed to accelerate economic growth by investing in critical pillars that create employment for millions of skilled youth.
“As we implement policies, programmes and projects which create jobs for the youth, we must simultaneously equip millions of young Kenyans with the education, training and skills necessary to enhance their productivity in a dynamic, globalised and competitive labour market,” he said.
This financial year, the government has allocated Kes.28.3 billion to TVET institutions.
“We intend to keep raising the budgetary allocation in future until we achieve an optimal level of investment,” he said.
The government is also recruiting 2,000 TVET tutors, with the goal of increasing the total number to 4,000.
The Head of State announced that the Italian Government is also seeking to help equip 40 more TVETs to improve the quality of training and meet international standards.
President Ruto, who recalled his tenure as Higher Education Cabinet Secretary during the Grand Coalition Government, highlighted that TVETs had made significant strides to align with the country’s development goals. He noted that the number of students in the institutions has grown from 40,000 in 2009 to 350,000.
“In the past to go to TVET was like a punishment as it was meant for those who were not good in class but the perception has changed with 9000 students who had been admitted to university opting to join TVETs,” President Ruto said.
Ruto emphasized that the youth were at the center of his development plans, and highlighted the involvement of youth in manufacturing, small and medium enterprises, special economic zones, and digital ICT hubs.
“I am happy that this morning I went to the ICT hub and found a youth called Mike who said he has made Sh600,000 in the past six months from working online.
“I am not talking about youth in America but here in Nyeri,” Ruto said.
