Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu urged all principals of national polytechnics, Technical and Vocational Educational and Training(TVETs) institutions and teacher training colleges to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses.
In a circular to the principals dated December 23, 2022, he explained the government’s intention to phase out business courses within three years as part of the plan.
“As you are aware, the Government of Kenya has put in a lot of emphasis and resources towards the support of STEM courses in all Tvet institutions,
“In view of this, it is of paramount importance to ensure that the country derives value for money from the huge resources invested in TVET for support of STEM courses,” he stated.
The CS urged the principals to develop a roadmap towards the phase-out of business courses within three years from the date of the circular.
He further instructed them to develop strategies to increase enrolment in STEM programmes.
“Ensure there is no drop in the overall enrolment in your respective institutions.
"The purpose of this letter is to make a report on the subject matter and an implementation matrix clarifying the phasing out of the business courses and the activities to increase the enrolment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skill areas,” he added.
Machogu, on November 21, 2022, implored Principals of TVETs to stick to offering technical courses as directed by the Ministry of Education.
“I do not want our TVETs to dilute their programmes with other courses like Business. The government is supporting TVETs to absorb the majority of students who do not qualify to join universities,” Machogu remarked.
The CS's remarks came in the backdrop of plans by the government to recruit at least 3,000 trainers for TVET colleges following a spike in the number of students enrolling in these institutions in recent years.
The government sees TVET training as matching well with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), phasing out the popular 8-4-4 system.
CBC emphasises the nurturing of practical skills among learners as opposed to amassing certificates based on theory learning.
This has seen the government increase its focus on technical colleges in the quest to feed the labour market with artisans and technicians.
The principals have until Friday, January 6 to submit a report to the Ministry of Education on how they will phase out business courses and increase the enrolment in STEM areas.
