TVETA Board of Directors and management team today toured Kaloleni Technical and Vocational Centre in Kilifi County and held a stakeholder meeting with the management, members of staff, and students before planting trees at the institution.
The principal Priscah Munyao took the team on a tour of the institution, highlighting the strides they have made since it started operations in May 2019 and the myriad of challenges it has faced in its bid to enroll more students to take advantage of the state of the art equipment supplied by the government, especially in the Mechanical Engineering and ICT department.
The institution, which was built by the partnership between the national government and Constituency Development Fund sits on a 7 acres piece, but the management hasn’t managed to get a title deed because the succession process is yet to be completed. This has affected the installation of a power transformer at the institution, although the power lines are already on site.
The institution currently has a population of 155 students, the majority being female, with 96 trainees. It offers training in Mechanical Engineering, ICT, Welding, Hair Dressing and Beauty Therapy, and electrical engineering, among others.
Lack of electricity has affected enrolment since most courses, especially the state of the machines donated to the institution require power to run. The college also lacks a sustainable source of water, access road, and the inability of trainees to be supported through government capitation, scholarships, and loans. This, together with the lack of a title deed, has tied the hands of TVETA from registering the institution alongside the programs they plan to offer.
The TVETA Board advised the college management to work with speed and at least manage to install electricity and get health public health inspection certificate, to allow the Authority to award them with a provisional registration certificate to help them sort out some of the challenges they face currently.
As a gesture of goodwill, the Board of Directors and management staff planted trees and promised to work with the institution to offer quality training that will attract more trainees.
