Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) has been issued with a Registration Certificate from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA) certifying it as a Technical and Vocational College in accordance with the TVETA Act 2021 Section 20 (1). The University has been registered to operate under the name Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology TVET Institute.
With this recognition, MMUST is now licensed to offer the following Diploma courses:
- General Agriculture
- Horticulture
- Building Construction
- Civil Engineering
- Disaster Management
- Security and Intelligence
- Fitness Instruction and Recreation Management
- Sports Coaching (Craft)
MMUST is expected to enroll its first set of four hundred and eighty (480) students with a maximum of sixty (60) students per course in the forthcoming September intake.
While receiving the Registration Certificate and Training License on Wednesday, 2nd June 2021, the Ag. Vice Chancellor, Prof. Solomon Shibairo, lauded the Directorate of TVET, under the leadership of Dr. Samuel Waweru, for the great achievement.
“With this recognition, we can now admit students and receive capitation from the Ministry of Education. We believe that these students can transition from the Diploma level and attain a PhD in these courses,” he said.
The Director, TVET, Dr. Samuel Waweru, said that the recognition is in harmony with the University's Vision and Mission since MMUST is a science and technology institution.
As a fully recognized TVET Institute, MMUST will offer Competence-Based Education and Training (CBET) programmes that lean towards skills development.
“This is a milestone since MMUST has the capacity to develop more programmes under the CBET curriculum. We aim to position ourselves, both regionally and nationally, as a centre of excellence in TVET training,” he said.
According to Dr. Waweru, the Directorate looks forward to establishing the Institute as a major training centre in Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) where JuaKali artisans can be enrolled for short courses and be certified.
This comes at a time when President Uhuru Kenyatta, during the Madaraka Day celebrations held, on 1st June, 2021 in Kisumu, directed the Ministry of Education to, within a month, issue a policy framework that will comprehensively recognize individuals in the JuaKali sector. Under the new framework, the Kenya National Qualifications Authority will be required to award such individuals with certificates based on their competence level.
The Directorate has submitted eight (8) more programmes for licensing by TVETA. The registration of MMUST as a TVET institution will be reviewed after five years.
In another development, MMUST has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Youth Service (NYS). The areas of strategic partnership between these two institutions include; linkage to the labour market, offering sports management course, complementary provision of infrastructure and human resource to facilitate training for the NYS trainees and TVET training in various disciplines.
MMUST can now receive NYS sponsored students. The University is expecting the first batch of about five hundred (500) students in September 2021 after the required inspections have been conducted.
"This is a major achievement. Apart from being a source of revenue for the University, MMUST is the first University to receive NYS sponsored students. This is good recognition for MMUST as a competent training institution," said Dr. Waweru.
The National Youth Service will take care of the accommodation, food, tuition and training materials for each of the enrolled students. Provision of accommodation is particularly important because the students are supposed to be kept and taught separately from the rest.
The servicemen and women will be housed under the Directorate of TVET since most of them will be taking professional Diploma courses after their pass-out parade.
Other members of the Management Board present during the handover of the Registration Certificate were; Prof. Charles Mutai (Ag. Deputy Vice Chancellor- Administration and Finance), Prof. Peter Odera (Ag. Deputy Vice Chancellor- Academic and Students Affairs), Prof. JSK Achoka (Ag. Deputy Vice Chancellor- Planning, Research and Innovation), Prof. Thomas Sakwa (Ag. Registrar-Academic Affairs), CPA Jared Rading -Finance Officer), Dr. Bernadette Abwao (Dean of Students) Dr. Eglay Tsuma (Ag. Deputy Registrar-Administration).
