Tertiary, technical institutions can absorb 400,000 candidates Matiangi

More than 400,000 high school leavers who did not attain the mean grade of C+ and above can be absorbed by tertiary and technical training institutions, Education Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i has said.

Speaking during an event to award scholarships to this year’s Wings to Fly scholars in Nairobi, the CS said it is time Kenyans embraced the role of tertiary and technical training institutions in national development.

“We must shift from the populist view of white-collar jobs, which are highly pegged on university degree qualifications, and focus more on skills-oriented approaches that equip our youth with practical skill sets that match their aspirations and can help our country to become a middle-income industrialised nation,” he said.

The CS noted that the move to close down middle-level colleges and make them university was wrong, adding that it created an artificial demand for university education with catastrophic repercussions.

“The most horrific consequence of which is that over 80 per cent of our enrolled university students are in the liberal arts and humanities courses completely at variance with our development needs at this point in time,” he said.

Dr Matiang’i lamented that the mass enrolment of students in universities has diluted the quality of learning in our institutions, adding that it is time to “start an honest journey towards the right direction in the development of our country.

He revealed that the capacity of technical and tertiary institutions is often unmet, with only 12,000 form four leavers applying to join the institutions last year.

“There are 64 operational Technical and Vocational Colleges (TVCs) out of which four are for trainees with special needs. Since 2014, the government has constructed 60 TVCs, which are complete and ready to become operational. An additional 70 TVCs are under construction and are expected to be completed by June 2017,” he revealed.

He noted that Equity Bank has offered support to 2,900 youth to train in TVET institutions under the Ministry of Education.

Only 88,929 out of the 577,253 candidates who sat the KCSE exam in 2016 qualified to join universities, leaving more than 400,000 high school leavers to pursue other avenues.