A new technical, industrial, vocational and entrepreneurship training (TIVET) curriculum is on the offering to prepare students for a competency-based education and training, the Assistant Minister for Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Kamama Asman has said.
Asman said “the competency based approach requires a direct link between training institutions and businesses. Industry needs to update the learning content of training programmes and to ensure a constant adaptation of training programmes to the evolving technological systems in industry.”
The assistant minister who was speaking during the national TIVET fair and technology at Bomas of Kenya said they have put other initiatives to improve quality and relevance of training in line with significant changes affecting the structure of the labour market, trends in technological innovation and new ways of work organization and management in modern industry.
The curriculum is being reviewed to overcome the kind of programmes perceived to churn out job seekers to a new kind that will produce employment creators.
Additionally, the new system is intended to increase access and address the issue of affordability of training in the context of the falling levels of family incomes as well as instill right attitude, put up the necessary infrastructure and the supportive cultural orientation that will encourage and drive science, technology and innovation in the country.
The minister said the stimulating technology fair and robot contest by technical colleges and institutions of higher learning is clear confirmation that the institutions are truly graduating into centers of excellence that are capable of undertaking competitive technology development and innovation.
Notwithstanding that “only 1 percent of the robots are found in Africa and, for that matter, mainly in South Africa,” he said “robots are becoming more important and critical as the world drifts into a future where the emphasis is to be put on clean energy economy for new technological development.”
The ministry cited Japan's continued assistance to Kenyan institutions in robot technology education and development in order for Kenya to advance faster in the technology.
“We will require institutions designated centres of excellence in robotic engineering and technology, machines to make prototype equipments, and the necessary culture nurtured through such robot contests as this among other strategies. I am making this appeal because the 21st century is an era of new and emerging technologies that will drive global, clean energy economy,” Asman said as he addressed contestants drawn from across the country.
The minister articulated that the technological inventions and innovations that were exhibited represented a significant step towards the realization of Vision 2030. “What we need is to invest more resources in research, science and technology in TIVET. The evidence is there for all and sundry to see. Countries that have invested in scientific and innovative technologies are ranked in the category of the first world. Countries like Japan, Korea, China United States, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore among others, whose products are found everywhere in the World are today the movers and shakers of the global economy.”
However, in Kenya, the level of investment in science, technology and innovation, research and development is paltry, he pointed out, adding this financial year, the Ministry through the National Council for Science and Technology, allocated Sh.300 million to support research activities and innovation. This figure is expected to be increased to Sh. 400 million. But this is very little, being actually less than 0.3 percent of our GDP. We need at least about Sh. 250 billion to start on a sound foundation.
TIVET institutions were challenged to offer training that will enable students to spearhead the process of technological innovation and industrial growth for economic prosperity. For them to become centres of excellence, they were called to benchmark on best standards in the East African region and beyond, in order for them to offer highly competitive, world class education and training in science and technology. “Your focus should be fixated on producing creative and innovative graduates with a global perspective,” Asman said.
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