TVET Authority Board of Directors and management team today paid a visit to Pingilikani VCT in Kilifi County and shared with the staff and Board of Governors how they can uplift the low enrolment and quality training at the institution.
At the time of visiting the institution had only one trainee in dressmaking, the principal, and one instructor who is employed by the Board but has never received a salary for months.
The college scored lowly in the TVETA quality audit, which assessed various areas ranging from Leadership, Management, and Government; to financial management, physical resources, safety, and sanitation; human resources, among others.
The VTC scored below average in all areas. The few facilities available in the institution are in a wanting state, some workshops missing iron sheets, and the sanitary area is in a deplorable state.
When the school principal Dan Maruti and BoG chair Ferdinand Bore were given a chance to explain the sorry state of the institution, they blamed funding and the inability of the County to post instructors as the major cause of the lack of students and deplorable state of the college.
They said while the institution is located in a good catchment area with much idle youth, especially young mothers, most parents are not able to pay the annual fee of Sh15,000 a year for all the courses they used to offer. The lack of instructors, since the BoG doesn’t have any money to pay instructors employed by the Board, let the trainees vacate the college, leaving it empty, with one trainee enrolling this month.
The TVETA Board Director Dr Esther Gacicio advised the principal and Board to engage the community more and show parents the value they are likely to get when their children get skills. They can also agree with the parents to stagger payments and also allow the trainees to use the college facilities to earn some income while learning, which they can plow back as college fees.
Director Valerie Akinyi, who is a representative of the Council of Governors is the Board said the Authority will work closely with Kilifi County to help and sort out some of the challenges so that the college can again start enrolling more students.
