The government has adopted elements of the German education system aimed at curbing the number of half-baked graduates across local universities and colleges.
The new training system introduces a mandatory industrial attachment with an overstretched duration away from the usual three-month-long engagement with employers.
All the students pursuing diplomas and certificates courses shall spend half of the duration set for their courses in field attachment.
The changes, experts say, are intended to offer opportunities for acquisition of adequate practical skills to diploma and certificate students before graduating from middle-level-colleges.
The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) Director General Juma Mukhwana, during the launch of the new system, stated that it would make all Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students get attached to industries on a compulsory examinable internship.
Mukhwana stated that the mandatory attachment program will be scored and shall be part of the overall grading of the coursework.
The changes imply that for coursework lasting for a period of three years, a diploma student shall spend a period of not less than 18 months on industrial attachment.
Spending one and a half years on the attachment will be six-times longer than the existing duration where diploma and undergraduate students are only engaged for three months.
The current situation, Mukhwana argues, denies more graduates opportunities in the job market due to a mismatch in training outcomes and market needs.
"The KNQA is working with stakeholders to domesticate the curriculum and tailor it to local needs, currently the situation holds the country back. The new system will increase competence levels and employability for our graduates," held the KNQA boss.
