CBET implementation Workshop participants at Golf Hotel, Kakamega.
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology’s TVET staff have undergone an intensive training workshop in readiness for the implementation of Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) in the University. The three-day Workshop, which kicked off on 22nd February, 2023, was officially opened by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and Students Affairs), Prof. Hussein Golicha, who was representing the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Solomon Shibairo.
The main facilitator of the activity was TVETA’s Assistant Director of Standards Development, Mr. Paul Muriithi. The MMUST staff, who steered the CBET implementation Workshop were; Prof. Basil Ong’or, Dr. Samuel Waweru, Dr. Ferdinand Nabiswa, Dr. Issah Kweyu and Mr. Wakungwi Sakwa. Other organizers of the Workshop included; Ms. Mable Wambani, Mr. Fred Koyaya, Ms. Valarie Luta and Ms. Hannah Minayo.
A section of the participants during the Workshop.
The trainees were taken through the requisites of occupational standards, designing, developing and the validation of assessment tools, as well as the procedures of implementing Competency-Based courses in TVET institutions.
“At MMUST, we are committed to supporting TVET programmes as we are cognizant that the job market calls for graduates who possess practical skills. I am very pleased to see that the TVET Institute is taking the lead in preparing the University to host the first cohort of Competency-Based Curriculum students,” said Prof. Golicha, adding that the University Management has approved the recruitment of nine (9) TVET trainers, to beef up the running of the programmes at the institute.
Prof. Hussein Golicha gives his remarks during the Workshop.
In his remarks, the Ag. Principal, MMUST-TVET Institute, Prof. Basil Ong’or, stated that all TVET programmes at the University have been accredited by TVETA, and that they have been aligned with the CBET guidelines. “From this workshop, we expect that the trainees will impart knowledge to the members of their respective departments. As an Institute, our aim is to produce a pool of competent graduates who will be able to meet the industry’s requirements and expectations,” said Prof. Ong’or.
“MMUST TVET Institute has been in existence for almost five years now and we have witnessed tremendous growth. We appreciate the support that we are receiving from the University Management, especially the Vice Chancellor, and the Division of Academic and Students Affairs, where the Institute is housed,” said the Ag. Deputy Principal MMUST-TVET Institute, Dr. Samuel Waweru.
A section of the Workshop participants follows keenly.
Mr. Wakungwi Sakwa, a Principal medical laboratory technologist at the University, in an interview with MMUST’s Directorate of Corporate Communications and Marketing, revealed that the TVET Institute is home to a robust faculty. “Most of our technical staff are as a result of CBC training and I am certain that we have what it takes to attract more students to the Institute,” he added, saying that TVET is the next big thing in Kenya.
MMUST’s TVET Institute is at the forefront of ensuring that the University transitions seamlessly to Competency-Based Education and Training. There is no doubt that the University is on the right track regarding hosting the first CBC students, who are expected in 2029.
Photos by Shiundu Masafu
