ROAD TO CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF TVET IN KENYA
History of Tvet in Kenya
The arrival of Europeans and the construction of the Kenya –Uganda railway in the 1920s brought Indian traders and workers into the country. They played a key role in training Kenya artisans and craftspeople at the Kabete industrial training depot. Christian missionaries also played a key role in the growth of technical training by bringing in technicians who trained Kenyans in skills needed to maintain the railway equipment.
The beginning of technical and vocational and education Training in Kenya dates back to the precolonial times. The goal was to produce semi-skilled labour for the cottage industries in the Kenya-Uganda railway development, masonry, carpentry and the agricultural sector.
The early 1950s saw a transformation of industrial depots into vocational schools which then evolved into secondary vocational schools by the 60’s.
The commission for higher education established in 1954 recommended the creation of Royal Technical college in Niarobi now university of Nairobi.
The Mombasa Insitute of Muslim Education founded in 1948 was offering technical and vocational education to Muslim students across East Africa. It later became Mombasa technical institute and eventually the Mombasa polytechnic in 1972.In 1961,the Kenya Polytechnic was established initially offering basic craft courses. These were phased out after 1966 as technical and vocational schools began providing similar training.
