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"id": 38410,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/38410/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dr. Mwiria",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology",
"speaker": {
"id": 190,
"legal_name": "Valerian Kilemi Mwiria",
"slug": "kilemi-mwiria"
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"content": " Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to support the Bill that came up in 2009. I hope that we did it then because it is a very important one for national development. The point has been made about how we are investing a lot more in universities and forgetting technical institutions, and yet it is quite clear worldwide that the countries that have made major strides in areas of industry and even in terms of achieving the visions that they set themselves have relied greatly on middle level men and women resources. So, it is extremely important that as much as we develop universities, which we must, we do consider and appreciate the fact that we have to put much more in middle level colleges because it is mainly this large pool of our youth and those with those skills that will contribute in terms of numbers to the kinds of targets that we have set for ourselves. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I would like to correct the feeling that has been going around that universities are completely taking over institutions of higher learning. We have said this before that, if any institution of higher learning is upgraded into a university, they retain their original mandate. Again, we appreciate that certificate and diploma courses are critical in terms of supporting what has been taken up by those who have degrees and postgraduate training. This kind of training is critical not just in terms of our local market. As a matter of fact, there is a big market for our young people out there in Europe, United States of America and, especially in the western world. This is because what has happened in those countries is that birth rates have been going down. Secondly, young people in those countries do not want to work with their hands. They do not want to be involved in any tasks that require them to work with their hands, which is also becoming a problem in this country. In other words, if we have quality institutions and people that are well trained, there is already a market out there in the Middle East and Europe if we can plan to take advantage of that market. All it takes is an arrangement between the Government and across countries to ensure that we take advantage of those opportunities. We aware that even locally, the market is big, as long as we have people with the right qualifications. That market includes outside of this Kenya. If you go to the countries that are surrounding us, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, among others, the demand for very well trained, practical human resources is very high. So, even outside our own market and outside of the international market, there is a big market regionally. For that to be successful, we have to pay particular attention to quality. There is no need of having industrial training or even any form of technical training if it is not of very high quality. This is because the competition of the future is not just about those that do not have skills, but those who have skills that have very high quality; that will almost do the job as well as a machine. It is not enough to have an ordinary carpenter these days. We need to have one who is a joiner of very high quality to the point that the product that they finish is so good that sometimes you cannot tell the difference between a machine-made and a human- made product. We do not have those kind of people. Nor do we have people who are very highly advanced in the area of electricity, plumbing or masonry. You will be surprised. So there is such a big demand if we can ensure that we have these kind of people that have those requisite qualities that are lacking in many of the skilled people that we are using. Therefore, that will call for not just institutions, but very high quality institutions that have all the facilities that we require in addition to the human resources of persons that are not what we would see as rejects, but people who also have very advanced training to be able to cope with the demands of the modern world in terms of the skills that are relevant for the kind of infrastructure, both domestic and international that is required. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we also need to have a system where we improve remuneration; the salaries that go to people with those kind of skills. If you recall, technical vocation education and industrial training was introduced by the colonial authorities when they introduced formal education. But up to now, this kind of practical training and those institutions have not been able to attract the best of minds; the most qualified academically. This is not only because these skills are looked down upon, but more importantly because if you go to an institution and you are a carpenter, a mason or an electrician, you are unlikely to make the same amount of money as a university- trained person. So, academic education still continues to be most well rewarded. That is one reason why we have young people who score very highly, but they will not be tempted to go to these institutions because they can see like very everybody else that if you want to make money, the line to follow is the academic line. This is despite the fact that if you go to countries in Europe and America, many people with practical skills are making much more money than people who are trained in university education. This is because those countries have re-oriented. They have reward structures in a way that if you have that kind of education, you will be recognized and you will be paid better or at least minimally as well as those people with academic qualifications. So, it goes beyond just training to what kind of rewards we make available to those that have that kind of training. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I agree with those who have spoken before that we have to pay attention to the curriculum. In doing this, it must not only be left to the industrial schools and the Ministry of Labour. It is important to bring other people who have a stake in this, bring business, industry, educational institutions to be able to sit together and come up with a curriculum that reflects the current status in the world in terms of the kinds of demands and skills that are needed. This is because sometimes, we do curriculum as just educational institutions and leave out the consumers of that curriculum. So, it is important as this is being done that this industrial training curriculum incorporates persons out there in industry who are much more familiar with what they need and to also begin to ask them to make opportunities possible for internships and practical training. So, that collaboration between the consumers of the skills and those who train and produce these skills is particularly important if we are to make progress. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in this regard, it is also important to pay particular attention or think in terms of potential partnership. How is it not just going to be the business of the Government, not only in terms of this curriculum, but in terms of supporting institutions in terms of putting money in these institutions? Most of the consumers of the products of these institutions will be the private sector. What will we be asking of the private sector, not only in terms of giving us opportunities for internship, but also in terms of putting money in those institutions in terms of supporting research and paying for certain chairs of departments? More importantly, in terms of being part of supporting the development of infrastructure because this is only one way they can give back. It is not only left to the Government because the Government can train, but the main consumer should also have a role in terms of supporting these developments. We should, therefore, as we talk about quality and these partnerships, involve key stakeholders, the private sector and others in keeping out a watch on kinds of institutions that are coming up to ensure that they not only reflect the relevance, but also the quality of the kinds of institutions that we would like to generate that kind of human resource. In this regard, it is important also to see how various Government Departments can collaborate. The Ministry for Higher Education, Science and Technology is responsible for technical vocation education. There is the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Trade, and virtually every Ministry in this Government has opportunities for skilled training in the area of practical skills. What is lacking is co-ordination; coming together of these institutions to be able to work together, so that they do not go in different directions in terms of what is quality of the person that must enter that training institution. Is there duplication? Is there repetition in terms of what is offered? Do we have the same regulatory mechanisms for all these institutions because they are all about training? What we lack is that clearing house from the various Ministries to be able to have one body that will be able to follow what is happening across all Ministries, not just specific Ministries like the Ministry of Labour because a lot of this training is taking place outside the Ministry of Labour and Ministries of education. But that co-ordination is not there. It is important for both quality and the avoidance of duplication and to ensure that we market the same product and have the same controls for these institutions. We need that clearing house; that co-ordination. I agree with those who say that this must also relate to the new Constitution. It must relate to the new Constitution, not only in ensuring that there is presentation across counties, but also in terms of the management of these institutions. I think one positive development in terms of skills training and professional development in this country is that Ministries will not just be run by Ministers, but they will be run by more often than not, by professionals. These should be people who have the competencies who have been in the profession and not politicians. We, therefore, have much more faith and believe that training of the future just like the running of other departments and Ministries will be much more professional. Some of these issues that we are talking about related to standards, collaboration and being market-driven will receive much more attention than is currently the case with the implementation of this new Constitution. I beg to support."
}