TVETA host South Africa delegation on bench-marking mission

TVET Authority Director-General Dr Kipkirui Langat has today hosted the Board members and staff of South Africa’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) who are in the country on a benchmarking mission.

NSFAS was established to provide financial aid to eligible students at TVET colleges and public universities in South Africa.

The delegation, which is headed by the CEO Mr Andile Nongogo and Board member Sanele Zondi, paid a visit to TVETA offices to get insights about the TVET system in Kenya and how the trainees are funded. Others in the delation were Bamanye Matiwane, Sivuyile Tshiwula, Ayanda Maingose, Modidedi Ouphany. TVETA staff president included Director Josephine Kasera, Dr Dominic Omboto, Andrew Too and Peris Njoroge.

TVETA DG gave the team a brief overview of the education system in Kenya and the various agencies regulating education and training at all levels from basic education to tertiary. He also gave them a brief landscape of the TVET system, including its evolution from independence to the current Competency-Based training.

Dr Langat also gave the team an overview of the TVET financing and the funding of trainees in the TVET pathway through government capitation, loans and bursaries.

He underlined the various reforms the government has undertaken in recent years that have expanded the TVET space through the establishment of training institutions across the country. This he said, has increased enrolment in TVET from around 100,000 students to the current population of around 500,000 trainees in both public and private TVET providers at all levels of training. The meeting was informed that South Africa has only 50 TVET institutions. Kenya currently has over 2,200 registered institutions from a list of over 3,000 institutions that have applied for registration.

“The government has invested heavily in the sector and has established a number of agencies that are managing the sector in terms of placement, curriculum development, funding and equation of certificates. As TVETA our role is to regulate and coordinate the sector to ensure that the country has a competent workforce for sustainable development,” Dr Langat told the team.

NSFAS Board member Mr Sanele Zondi who led the delegation at the meeting said he was impressed by the strides Kenya has achieved in the TVET sector and the education sector in general, and that is the reason they choose to visit the country and benchmark.

“Our mission is to learn how Kenya is funding students in TVET and universities and pick the best practices and replicate in our country. We also want to learn how you are linking your training system with the industry and how the TVET sector has managed to rebrand itself and attract more students,” Mr Zondi said.

Besides TVETA, the delegation has also had meetings with HELB to learn the various operations of the students’ lender.

During their visit, the delegation will also visit the Ministry of Education, KUCCPS, University Funding Board, Commission for University Education, Kenyatta and KCA universities and KTTC before winding up at Nairobi National Park and other tourist sites in the City.