Category: General

In a combined effort to combat acute malnutrition among children, the Department of Health Services in Bomet has initiated a comprehensive two-day sensitization programme on Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM).

The programme, which kicked off Wednesday, aims to equip healthcare workers with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively identify, refer, and follow up on cases of acute malnutrition across the county.

The IMAM interventions, part of a broader strategy to enhance healthcare delivery, are designed to establish a seamless continuum of care by forging strong linkages with programmes focused on preventive and promotive services.

This holistic approach underscores the government’s commitment to tackling malnutrition comprehensively, ensuring that children receive the care they need from identification to recovery.

Currently, implemented at Longisa County Referral Hospital, IMAM is poised for expansion into sub-county facilities within Bomet.

Governor Barchok’s Office released a
statement expressing the county’s dedication to extending the reach of IMAM across all five sub-counties, emphasizing its pivotal role in addressing malnutrition within local communities.

‘The project is going on in all five sub-counties, intending to curb malnutrition in our societies,’ the statement affirmed, highlighting the county’s proactive position in tackling this pressing public health issue.

The sensitization programme saw a diverse array of healthcare professionals in attendance, including medical officers, clinical officers, nurses, nutritionists, community health assistants, Sub-County Medical Officers of Health, and Nutrition Coordinators.

Their participation underscores the collaborative effort required to implement IMAM effectively and underscores the county’s commitment to addressing malnutrition comprehensively.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kenya will play host to global leaders in technical, vocational education and training (TVET) during the 6th Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (PASET) Forum and RSiF Annual Conference scheduled in Nairobi from Tuesday, April 23rd to 25th.

Extending an invitation while welcoming the expected delegation to the conference, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said the theme of the conference is leveraging on TVET in the knowledge and skills ecosystem for Africa’s industrialization.

He reiterated that the conference will provide an opportunity to engage and interact with Africa Member States of PASET, exchanging knowledge and ideas on how to take forward the important and strategic TVET sector to enable the realisation of industrialization the continent requires.

‘Welcome ministers and distinguished guests from Africa and around the world, particularly the 12 member states of PASET, to the 6th PASET Forum and RSiF Annual Conference, which will officially be opened b
y His Excellency Dr. William Samoei Ruto, C.G.H., President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces,’ said CS Machogu.

PASET is a sub-Saharan Africa programme with the objective of strengthening science, technology, and engineering capabilities for the socio-economic transformation of the member countries through post-doctoral training and skilling the youth in the technical vocational education and training sector.

The CS observed that the greatest challenge to industrialization is the absence of qualified and competent technical human resources, adding that a technically skilled workforce is a pre-requisite for sustained industrialization.

Machogu emphasised that the path to industrialization followed by many countries, including Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and China, and the role played by TVET have been well documented, and Africa can learn from the experiences of these countries.

‘The 6th PASET Forum will therefore seek to position TVET within the knowledge an
d skills ecosystem and espouse the critical role it can play in the industrialization of Africa. The emphasis will be on postsecondary or tertiary-level TVET in the continuum of skills development and in line with the mandate of PASET,’ said the Education CS.

Participants will be drawn from African TVET institutions, universities, industry, ministries of education and training, as well as finance and economic planning, regulatory bodies, and innovation hubs. TVET experts from PASET partner countries such as Korea, China, India, and Brazil would also be invited to participate as speakers or resource persons. The EASTRIP project would also be invited to share information on their TVET Centres of Excellence. Other participants would include World Bank officials, the PASET Secretariat, the Executive Board, and the Consultative Advisory Group.

Postsecondary TVET is one of the strategic pillars of the PASET initiative. According to UNESCO, TVET refers to ‘aspects of the educational process involving, in addition
to general education, the study of technologies and related sciences as well as the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, understanding, and knowledge relating to occupations in various sectors of economics and social life.

TVET contributes to the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) and SDG8 for decent work and economic growth. The important role that TVET plays in the acquisition of employment-oriented skills for sustainable livelihoods and national economic growth has been documented in several publications by UNESCO and the African Union, among others.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Centre for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) plans to train 9,639 Junior School (JSS) teachers across the country, to equip them with practical skills and knowledge for effective implementation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, under the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).

The training, whose theme, is enhancing teachers Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) for effective implementation of the CBC in JSS, targets teachers of pre-technical studies, agriculture, and nutrition to enhance their capacity in teaching and learning through learner-centred strategies.

Deputy Director, Training at CEMASTEA, Patrick Kogolla, said JSS teachers play a key role in laying the foundation of CBC, and the training will support the transition of 60 per cent of learners to the STEM pathway in Senior School by addressing issues that relate to the capacity, interests, and needs of the learners.

‘These trainings are meant to strengthen teaching so that more
students can opt for the STEM pathway in senior school,’ said Kogolla.

The Deputy Director training disclosed that CEMASTEA is currently conducting a four-day regional training for 292 county trainers in Machakos, Naguru, and Kisumu, who will in turn cascade the training to teachers across all 47 counties.

Speaking today at Machakos University during the workshop for 92 county trainers drawn from 17 counties, Kogolla said trainings are expected to help the teachers understand the curriculum designs that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has prepared for JSS, how to interpret the designs, and how to implement learner-centred pedagogies, which are key principles in CBC.

‘Learner-centred pedagogies make the child the centre of the learning process in the classroom. This approach is very key because it makes the learner to actively participate and develop crucial skills,’ added the Deputy Director of Training.

He pointed out that the training will also address the integration of digital lit
eracy, which is a core competency in CBC.

‘The teachers will be trained on how to integrate ICT in teaching and learning for improved learning outcomes,’ said Kogolla.

He said the trainings will be conducted in the counties starting next week.

Speaking during the official opening of the Machakos regional county trainers workshop, the Director General, Ministry of Education, Dr. Elyas Abdi, noted that CBC aligns with the government’s Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) in developing interventions aimed at growing the economy and improving the welfare of citizens.

In a speech read on his behalf by Hellen Avisa, the Deputy Head of JS, Dr.Elyas reiterated the Ministry of Education’s commitment to supporting CEMASTEA’s programmes that are geared towards establishing a strong foundation in STEM education under the CBC.

‘The ministry is also keen on addressing inequalities to achieve a level playing field for learners,’ he added.

Dr. Elyas underscored the need to adapt learner-centred strategies, s
aying the approach ensures inclusion and actively engages the learners, hence equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge required to navigate the current dynamic world.

The director also laid emphasis on the integration of technology in teaching and learning to capture and sustain the attention span of learners in the 21st century.

He, however, noted that the capability of JS teachers to effectively integrate technology remains a major concern and hailed CEMASTEA for developing programmes that have the potential to transform teaching and learning practices in the implementation of STEM education in JS.

‘There’s also a need for teachers to create communities of practice to deliver quality STEM education,’ said Dr.Elyas.

The director called for mentorship and guidance in STEM-related fields for young people to ensure that they exploit their talents and explore opportunities both locally and globally while contributing to the economy.

‘Mentorship and guidance in STEM fields is one of the fastest
-growing areas to get young people interested in educational opportunities and global competitiveness. This will minimise the dilution of the talent pipeline that continues to hurt the economy,’ he said.

Dr. Elyas expressed his confidence that the training will give the teachers new insights and practical skills to improve learning outcomes.

Maina Cliff,a teacher at Bishop Njenga Mixed Secondary School and a JSS county trainer for Agriculture and Nutrition in Taita Taveta, said the new teaching methodologies that involve inquiry-based learning will shift the focus from the teachers to the students and make them engaged throughout the learning process.

‘The old methodology of teaching that most relied on lecturing made students passive, but with the new strategies, the students actively participate and are able to gain practical skills that can enhance their creativity and innovativeness,’ said Cliff.

He said the training will bridge the gaps that exist in the teaching of STEM-related fields at CBC.

‘This
training will improve our pedagogical skills and will in turn enhance the content delivery of the curriculum through student-oriented approaches that will give learners hands-on practical skills that can help them solve emerging problems in society,’ said the County Trainer.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kenyans in the labour force have been urged to join pension schemes and start their contributions, which would enable them to have a stable future once they exit their employments.

According to the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), only 26 per cent of people in the labour market were saving for retirement, meaning that in every 10 Kenyans in the labour service, 7 were likely to live in poverty after retirement because the appreciation of saving for retirement is not well embraced.

Speaking during a RBA service week at Garissa Huduma Centre on Wednesday, RBA’s Chief Executive Officer Charles Machira said that there was a need for concerted efforts by all government and non-state agencies to sensitise the people on setting aside resources from their current earnings and saving for the future when they retire.

At the same time, Machira also urged the young people in the informal sector, which has the highest population of the labour force in the country, to ensure that they joined pension schemes.

‘We hav
e assets beyond Sh1.7 trillion, but the people who own these assets are too few because they are the people who are either in the Civil Service or the formal sector,’ Machira said.

‘There is a huge population of our people; 85 per cent of our labour force, as we know, is in the informal sector, and we must have concerted efforts to bring these people into the space of saving for their pension,’ he added.

The CEO further sent a warning to all employers who were deducting pensions from their employees’ pay slips but failed to remit them to their respective pension schemes that they would face legal consequences, noting that employees’ savings must be safeguarded.

Machira noted that collective remedial action is already in progress to ensure that the perpetrators of any illegalities are properly punished within the context of the law to ensure members’ benefits are secure.

‘We have a responsibility to ensure that there is hygiene in the retirement benefits in Kenya, that the pension funds are properly manage
d, that there is optimal investment earning, and that when members retire, they go home with commensurable benefits for the services they rendered during their work lives,’ he said.

‘Any member of the pension fund who has worked, retired, or exited from service early must be paid their due benefits at the expected time of 30 days,’ he added.

Huduma Kenya Acting CEO Mugambi Njeru, on his part, said that the Huduma Centres, which bring services closer to the people, would be partnering more with agencies like RBA and others to ensure easy access through the Huduma Mashinani initiative.

Hassan Noor, a retiree from the Youth Enterprise Fund, urged those employed to start preparing their pension documents early so that by the time they exit service, everything is ready for them to start receiving their pension fund.

Noor said that it was difficult for a retiree to start the process after exiting service because it required a lot of money to travel, which would likely lead to a delay in the disbursement of thei
r retirement dues.

Present during the event were Garissa Township Deputy County Commissioner John Marete, Garissa Huduma Centre Manager Mohamed Abdullahi, and officials from the County Pension Fund (CPF), among others.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Migori County has launched a Masingira Youth Programme to empower them economically.

Speaking during the launch of the programme at the Migori Green Stadium, Migori Deputy Governor Joseph Mahiri said the Programme planned to support 400 youths across the County.

Some of the 400 Masingira Youth Programme recruits. The County Project aims to empower youth through developmental programmes, fostering social and economic empowerment. Photo by Geoffrey Makokha.

He said the programme aimed at engaging the youth in town cleaning, environmental conservation, and climate change.

Mahiri said that the initiative would be an annual programme with a long-term goal of recruiting 1.2 million youths by the end of 2027.

He disclosed that the County would soon launch other programmes in the agricultural and education sectors to empower youth economically and steer the workforce of the county.

‘We will soon launch the youth agricultural extension service officers that will help our farmers in the agricultural, livestock, a
nd blue economic spaces to make our county food secure,’ noted Mahiri.

Osewe Collins, a Member of the County Assembly for North Kamagambo and Committee Member for the Environment, said that the County Assembly had passed the Youth Policy to empower the county youths, with the Masingira Youth Programme being one of such initiatives.

Osewe disclosed that Youth Policy would engage youths in entrepreneurship and governance-related projects to shape the talents and skills that youth possess.

The County Legislator also added that other passed policies, like Climate Change, have placed the youth at the centre of environmental conservation mechanisms.

Osewe explained that the Masingira Youth Programme will act as a catalyst in propelling future county programmes to ensure that the County youths benefit from their economic development to empower the growth of the county.

Source: Kenya News Agency