Over 60% Tvet institutions ready for reopening, says DG
Sixty to seventy percent of Technical Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Institutions across the country are ready for reopening after they conformed to the protocols set by the government, TVET director general Dr. Kipkirui Langat has said.
Langat said that the over 90 institutions have for the last three months been working on the stipulated containment measures in readiness for reopening in January.
On Wednesday, the Education Cabinet Secretary restated that the Government’s position on learning resumption date has not changed, and that it remains to be January 2021.
This, he said as most institutions of higher learning continued to gear up reopening requirements among them establishment of new permanent and temporal structures to accommodate more learners, erection of handwashing units among other measures.
Speaking while on a normal routine checkup on the progress of preparedness for reopening at Thika Technical Training Institute in Kiambu County, Dr. Langat insisted that a section of institutions were still unprepared and urged them to hasten the process to ensure they are not left behind when the government opens up on the reopening dates.
Unlike in basic learning institutions where learners have to be programmed in an orderly mode of study, Langat said technical institutions will have flexibility in teaching various subjects.
“We can have classes starting early, others can run late and the institutions can offer classes even over the weekend,” he said.
On his side, the technical school Principal Sammy Cheruiyot said that the institution is currently able to accommodate only 4,000 students who form a three quarter of the entire school population.
He said that the institution has added more water and sanitizing points to enhance hygiene through handwashing by the students and lecturers.
“We have also been able to declare some classes available for use by students. Through these enhancements, we can now accommodate three quarters of our students and we hope to continue improving,” he said.
In the next two weeks, the school principal said the institution will reprogram the way it runs classes to accommodate all the students.
Cheruiyot said that the institution has plans to expand its training facilities by putting up more classrooms, workshops and laboratories.
“We are also want to ensure the current classes have effective utility. We are organizing on how students can learn in shifts to give us more room than usual,” he added.
Following continued drop in Covid-19 cases, the school head said that they were scheduling to stay their earlier planned virtual graduation ceremony with hopes to hold a physical one once the deadly virus fades.
