The Treasury is yet to release some Sh1 billion that was requested for in January for construction of 30 training hubs.
Such delays coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to stalling of the project that sought to enrol more youth to boost their chances of being employed.
Plans to have 1,540 vocational training centres across the country by 2022 face challenges following delayed disbursement of funds by the Treasury.
Education Cabinet secretary George Magoha told Parliament that the Treasury is yet to release some Sh1 billion that was requested for in January for construction of 30 training hubs.
Such delays coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to stalling of the project that sought to enrol more youth to boost their chances of being employed.
“We have a pending exchequer request at the National Treasury amounting to Sh1.023 billion since January 2020.
“Our concern is that if we do not receive the funds, the projects will stall because there is no allocation in the 2020/21 FY budget,” said Prof Magoha.
The government has been pushing to have hundreds of thousands of students to join the vocational training centres, which admit Class Eight and Form Four leavers.
The plan is to supply the labour market with skilled technicians such as plumbers, mechanics and electricians in an economy with job seekers eyeing white-collar job.
Increased enrollment meant available institutions grapple with financial constraints as they try to accommodate the growing student population.
Data by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that enrolment in technical vocational education and training institutions (TVETs) stood at 430,598 as of last December, a 19.7 percent rise from 359,852 in 2018.
The sharp rise in enrolment coincided with a fall in the number of students joining universities, which is expected to decline by 1.9 per cent to 509,473 in 2019/20 from 519,462 in 2018/19.
The decline in enrolment in public universities is partly attributed to the dwindling number of candidates joining the higher learning institutions through self-sponsored programmes.
Despite the ambitious plan to build 1,540 vocational training centres by 2022, the current institutions are in a poor state and lack modern training equipment.
Aside from infrastructure challenges, the institutions struggle to deliver quality training due to disparities in trainees’ entry levels.
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