List of institutions upgraded to national polytechnic status

By Peter Ochieng

The cabinet has considered and approved the upgrade of 13 technical and vocational training institutions across the country, to national polytechnic status.

The decision was made during a cabinet meeting at the Kakamega State Lodge, chaired by president William Ruto on Tuesday.

It was the second cabinet meeting outside the capital, Nairobi, after the first one was held at the Sagana State Lodge, in Nyeri county few weeks ago.

A dispatch from the cabinet indicated that the upgrade of the institutions seeks to enhance access to higher education, across the nation.

"To further enhance access to higher education through a balanced institutional framework, cabinet further considered and approved the upgrading of 13 technical and vocational colleges to national polytechnic status," reads a dispatch from the cabinet.

"The action by cabinet is pursuant to the principle set out in sessional paper no: 1 of 2005: A framework for education through research, which establishes a pathway for upward mobility of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) graduates."

The policy also requires the establishment of at least one national polytechnic in each county, and a TVET institution in each constituency.

As such, institutions that have been upgraded to national polytechnic status include:

Maasai technical training institute, Kiambu institute of science and technology, Rift Valley institute of science and technology, Coast institute of technology and Tseikuru technical and vocational college.

Others are; Bureti technical vocational college, Jeremiah Nyagah technical training institute, Mawego technical training institute and Sang'alo institute of science and technology amongst others.

Before upgrade of the aforementioned, the country had over 10 national polytechnics, among them Kisumu, Eldoret, Kisii, Nyeri, Kitale and Meru.

Further, the cabinet waived the requirement for national identity cards before university placement for students who have not attained the age of 18, and further directed the ministry of education to fast-track access to scholarships for eligible students.