BDUCATION, TRAINING AND THE INFORMAL SBCTOR IN KENYA

Martin Walsh
October 1991

INTRODUCTION

The need to create employment in Kenya is widely recognised, as

is the capacity of the informal sector to absorb school leavers and
the unemployed at comparatively little cost. This paper examines
the current and potentiar rore of education and especially
differenb kinds of training in this process. ft is a synthesis of
the reports and other documents listed in the bibfiography, in
parbj"cular the working papers prepared by Ngare (1gg1a, 1gg1b) and
Yambo (1991) for the ioj-nt ILO/I'{TTAT nission to prepare a proposal
for an informal sector training, productivity and employment
project in Kenya.

The paper is divided into five sections incl-uding this short

introducLion. Section 2 below presents an overview of education
and Lraining, focusing mainly upon the public training institutions
and a descripLion of trairring or apprenticeship within the informal
sector. Section 3 examines some of the major issues in training
for (and by) t-he informal sector, taking a critical look at the
strengths and weaknesses of different levels and modes of training.
Section 4, which includes an outline of current governnrent policy,
discusses some of the ways in which l.raining can be reoriented. so
that ib can address the needs of the informal sector more
effectively than it does at present. Section 5 provides a brief
conclusion and is followed by a list of acronyms and abbreviations
used in bhe text (Annex 1), the statistical t,ables (Annex zt and
finally a bibliography of works cited in or directly relevant to
the paper.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN KENYA: AN OVBRVIEW

This section provides a descriptive overview of the systems of

formal education, formal training and informar training (or
apprenticeship) in Kenya

According to bhe Ndegwa Report (Republic of Kenya 1991a) the

total- number of people being trained or educated in formal
irrstitutions in Kenya is about 6 nillion out of ;r total population
of 23 nilJ-ion, about 60% of their age group (rnost students and.
trainees being under 20 years old). Government expenditure on
education in recent years has accounted for 38% of total recurrerrt
expenditure' or 45% if training is added. The public and. private
sectors combined spend 9% of GDP on education.
2,7 Fornal Education

The currenb system of formal education is generally referred

to irs B-4-4: eighb years of primary school, followed by four years
of secondary and four years (ab least) of tert,iary education. The
8-4-4 system was in'Lroduced in 1984 to replace the old 7-6-3 system
foJ-lowing the recomm€)ndzrtions of the 1981 Presidential Working
Party on the Second University.

2.2,1 Primar:y School

The B-4-4 system begins with eight years of primary school

education. The intake to Standard 1 ideally comprises six year old
children who have previously gained an elementary acquaintance with
literacy and numeracy in nursery school. fn Standard B students
take the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination.
The curriculum includes a number of practical subjects taught under
the nrbric of home science, art and craft, and agriculture.

Most primary school-s are constructed and equipped by their

Iocal communibies. The government pays teachers' salaries through
lhe Teachers' Ser:vice Commission (TSC) and provides ph;rsical
facil-j-tj-es i.n some hardship areas. The 8-4-4 system has required
extra facilities in t-he form of workshops, and it is estimated that
by 1990 about 4021 of the facilities needed to implement the new
system liad 5een conslructed.

The government t s goal is to provide universal primary

education. While this goal has yet to be achieved, in 1989 5.4
ni1l ion studerrts were enrolled in more than 14,000 primary schools
throughout the country. rn t h e same year almost 390r000 pupils sat
for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), following
whj-ch some 46% gained admission to secondary school.

2 .I .2 Secon<lary S c ; h o ol

As indicateci above, close to half of al--Lprimary school leavers

are admitted tc> secondary school, about 23% of iheir age group. At
the end o!l four years of secondary education students (by then aged
1B years plus) sit for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education
(KCSE). They have to Lake at least one practica] subject, and the
'Ln
curriculum ( Lheory) provides a wide variety to choose from,
includ ing agricr.rlture, woodwork, metarlwork, mechanics,
construct.ion, home science, business educat,ion, anci art and design.
Tn 1989 the secondary schools had a total enrollment of about
640'000 students. and jn the same year 1"7i,000 students sat for
their KCSE er:rmin;rl.ions.

2 .1 .3 U nj , v er s i L y

Ther:e are six pr-rblic universities which offer four year f irst
degree courses for secondary school leavers. In 1989 the total
enroll.rnenl- of Lhe rrni-versit ies was some 23,000 students: in 1990
this fi.gu,:'e rose to 41,000, a consequence of the double-intake
necessii;at.ed by the introduction of the B-4-4 system. Almost all
university graduates are absorbed into formal sector employment and
a significant proportion of these (89% in 1988) into public
service. There are also 11 private universities: in 198? their
total enrollment was a Iittle less than 1,500 students, about
three-quarters of whon were undergraduates. It is also estimated
that there are about, 12'000 students studying abroad, though bhis
figure includes people on short vocational courses.

2.2 Formal Training

Technical anrl vocational training in l(enya is generalry

idenbified with the. formal training offered by institutions which
have structured curricula and fixed-period progframmes leading to
certification. on one estimabe there are about 2r000 such
training institutions of different types in the country. rn 1g8g
about 61r000 peopl,e were receiving technical vocational- education
or training of rlifferent kinds, two-thirds of them in the Youth
Polytechnics ( see Annex 2, Tabl-e l- , for an overview of enroll-ment
in di fferent. insbitutions ).

Tt shoul.d be noted that different sources often fail to agiree

on the basic statistics of formal training: the nunber of
institutions, their total enrollment and their annual intake and
outputs. fn the absence of more reliable data the figures cit.ed
below should be taken as no more than an approxirnertlon on the basis
of avai.lable evidence.

2.2.1 Youth Polytechnics

The most important formal training institutions in terms of

their numbers and the relevance of 'bheir output to the infornal
sector are Lhe Youth Polytechnics (YPs). The total enrollment of
the YPs in 1990 was about 40r000 students. The first yp (or
Village Porytechnic, as it was then c;rI1ed) was established by the
NCCK in 1966. By l-990 there were 573 YPs, an averagle of about
eight per District. Of these 325 were sponsored by the government
(most of them by bhe Ministry of Culture and Social Services) and
the remaining 248 by different, NGOs. The YPs are usually managed
by Lhej-r local communities.

The YPs typically of f er two year artisan l-evel- courses f or

primary school leavers (and some secondary school drop-outs)
leading t.o bhe Government rrade Tests (especially grade rrr, the
lowest) which are administered by bhe Directorate of Industrial
Training (DIT) in the Ministry of Technical Training and Applied
Technology (MTTAT). Tn the case of 67 YPs adopted by the MTTAT new
art i-san courses <leveJ-ope-.d f or the 8-4-4 syllabus by the Kenya
TnstibuLe oj'l EducaLion (KItr) and examinable by the K-enya Nati.onal
Exetmination Council have been introduced. Bntry requirements for
Lhese new (:ourses ( KCPE average C or above ) are higher than those
for' l;he Government 'frade Tests (GTTs).
 The rnosL widely ollfered courses include carpentry, masonry,
taiJ"oring zrrtd ciressnaking, motor mechani-cs, netalwork and general
f i t bi rrg. ol-her courses bo be f ound include weldirrg, plumbing ,
leaLherwork, electrical work and electronics. The orientation is
overwhelrningly practical. and 90% of t,he curriculum in these artisan
reve.:I courses is devoted to trade subjects, the remaining Io% to
support ing subject s.

2.2.2 ' l ' c : c h nj - c a l T r a i . n i n g Institutes

There are 19 Technical Training Institutes (TTIs) oper.ated by

the I'ITTAT. In 19Bg they had zrn enrollment capacity of about 9r000
students. Before 1987 the TTIs were Technical Secondary Schools.
Their primary aim was ernd j-s to impart technical education to young
'Lrainees and prepare t.hem for employment and/or further training.
The TTfs of fer: two Jrear artisan level courses for primary school
leavers and three year crafl- level courses ( leading to craft
certificates itn<l/or Lhe higher grade Trade Tests) for secondary
school leavers and i,he graduates of artisan progr.ammes. 80% of the
curriculutr at cr:rft level is devot.ed to trade subjects and 20% to
supporti.ng subjects,

2 .2 . 3 Inst i trr t.es of Technology

T t r er q r a r e r r o r n e 2 0 r n s t i t u t e s of rechnology ( rrs ) , f ormerly

known as l{arambee Institutes of Technology (HITs) and sonetimes
called fnsLitutes of Advanced 'lechnology, Colleges of Technology,
or by other sirrj-lar rlames. The f irst HI'l was established in 19?3
and by 1986 i.here were L7 of then across the country with an
enrollmenL of over' 3'000 trairrees (current estimates range between
this figure and double bhe number). The ITs are run by their local
commurribies and assisLed by the government in providing staff and
I irnited r;trrdr:nL grani-s.

The I'fr; were est;rb1-Lshed to prcvide youtir with skil1s for. self
r e l i z r n c e i a i - i r r Er : t r r a l c o m m u n i b i e s . fn the earl;r 1980s sone of Lhem
of fered bol-tr ;rrtisan ernd craft courses, but most of t,hem have now
set tleld f or i.ire lat ber . l.{ore recent,ly some o f the rTs have
initial-ed l-et;hnician I evel cour:ses. Applicants f,rom the Districrs
in which i-he ITs ;r.re }ocaleC are given prioril-y.

2.2. + Nat ional, Tndust,riai Vocational Training Centr.es

TIlere are t.Lrree }{ai.ional industrial Yocational Training Centres

(NMCs). 'Iirese ;r.re
operaLed under the National industrial and
vocerl;ional Training Acl, by me;rns of a tra.ining ievy imposed on a1i
enpl-oyers e r n d a r e r u n b y t h e } " { T T A T 's D i r e c l . o r a t e cf inciustriai
'lraining ( Drr ) . They are locaL,ed in Lhe three largesr urban
r:ent.res, Naircbi., !{ombasar ;:.nd Kisumu. The iTCs in Mombasa and
Kistrinu are sponscrrr:d by DANIDA.

The NTVTCs t:rke in more Lhan 1,000 tr;rinees per year, most of
whom are secondary school leavers and ;rre beilg sponsored by their
employers. They offer l-hree year sandwich courses leading to craft
cert if ic;rtes. s L,udents ;rbtenti the cent-res f or i 2 weeks in a J.ear,
and spend the rest of their time on industrial attachment. The
centres also conduct evening courses for skiII upgrading of small-
scale workshop owners and their employees.

2.2.5 National Polytechnics

There are three National Polytechnics (NPs), at Eldoret,

Mombasa a n d N a i r o b i ( K e n y a P o l y t e c h n i c ) . T h e i r i n t a k e c o mprises
graduates of craft schools, with a majority of students sponsored
by different ministries and private sector employers, plusr more
recently, s o m e w h o a r e s e l f s p o n s o r e d . T h e t o t a l e n r o l l m e n ' t is
approximately 9 ' 0 0 0 s t u d e n t s .

The NPs currently offer a wide range of courses at Technician

and Higher Technician levels' Iasting t w o a n d three years
respectively and leading t o Ordinary D i p l o m a s a n d H i g h e r N a t i onal
Diplomas. 60% of the curriculum is g i v e n o v e r t o t r a d e a n d the
remaining 4O% to supporting s u b j e c t s . M o s t o f t h e g r a d u a t e s e n t er
formal sector employment.

When the B-4-4 system becomes fully operational it is envisaged

bhat the NPs wilI also offer two year Bachelor of Technology
courses (7O% theory and 2O% ptactical ) for holders of diplomas or
equivalen.t qualifications, as well as two year post-graduate
courses ( 8 0 % theory and 2O% p r a c t i c a l ) .

2.2.6 Private and Non-Government Training Institutions

There are many different kinds of private commercial and NGO

assisted or operated training institutions other than those already
referred to above. The NGO assisted institutions include the
Christian Industrial Training Centres (CITCs, of which there are
seven), Craft CenLres, Community Centresr Rehabilitation Centres
(including workshops for the disabled) and other institutions Iike
the traini-ng schools operated by the Undugu Society in Nairobi and
Tototo Home Industries in Mombasa. These institutions typically
target economically disadvantaged groups and offer artisan and
(especially the CITCs) craft 1evel courses leading to the GTT
certificates. Estimates of the total number of such institutions
and the brainees within Lhem are not available.

The wide variety of private training institutions and colleges

defy simple description. Given that some of these, like
el-ementary tailoring schools, operate within the informal sector,
it is difficult to obtain reliable or up to date information on
their number and enrollment. According to the Ministry of Manpower
Development and Employnent 23 r432 Lrainees were enrolled in private
institutions in 1984. Many of these trainees were engaged in
business studies, and a large proportion of the latter (64%) were
reported to be women - presumably because there were fewer openings
for thern in the public l-raining institutions.
2.2,7 Nabional Youth Service

The National Youth Service (NYS), which is run by the Office of

the President' was established to provide vocational training and
disciplined work experience. It was originally designed for
primary school leavers but has increasingly become an institution
for secondary school leavers. fn 1989 the NYS had a total
enrollment of 4'600, distributed between 16 NYS training centres.
These provide traini-ng of 4-5 years' duration at both artisan (GTT)
and craft levels.

2.2.8 PubIic Service Institutes

There are also a variety of training institutes which are

operated by different branches of the government for civil servants
and public employees. Available estimates of their number range
between 76 and 200. These include the ministerial and parastatal
training institutes as weIl as those supervised by the Directorate
of Persorrrrel Management (DPM) in the Office of the President, which
coordinates inservice training designed to upgrade the skills of
those already ernployed. These government institutes are beginning
to offer trai.ning to the private sector as well as public sector
employees. DPM st-aListics for 1988 indicate that l-Ir000 employees
were offered braining in differenb skills within Kenya and over
1,000 outside the country.

2.2.9 Technical Teacher Training

The supply of teachers to public institutions is the

responsibility of the TSC. In 19Bg the TSC supplied 1,894
technical teachers, mostly to the TTrs, rrs and Nps. only a very
small number joined the YPs ( following the takeover of 67 yps by
the MTTAT). Most YP teachers are primary school leavers with GTT
Grade If who have been trained at the Kenya Technical- Teacherst
College (KTTC), a function which is now being switched to the Karen
centre for Research and rechnorogy (cRT). The Jzs government
sPonsored YPs hnd 2'067 teachers in 1988, less than a third of the
estimated 6'825 instructors (2L per YP) required to inplement the
B-4-4 artisan courses.

2.2.1O The Ministry of Technical Training and Applied Technology

The Ministry of Technicar Training and Applied Technorogy

(MTTAT) was created in March 1g8B during a routine cabinet
reshuffre. rts portfolio includes technical training policy,
technical education and vocational training in the yps, rrs, Drr
and NPs. Before the creation of MTTAT these were the
responsibiliby of different ministries. YPs were under the charge
of the Minis'l;ry of culture and social services. Technical
educat ion and Lechnical- training policy, the ITs and the Nps came
under the Ministry of Education, science and Technology. The DrT
and technical vocational training in general were the
responsibility of the Ministry of Labour
 The MTTAT is arso charged with resp.nsibility for Jua Kali
development programmes. Jua Kari (riterarry 'hol
=urr') ref;;;
primarily to production and service oriented informal sector
enberprisesr so called because many of them operate outdoors and
with a minimum of shelter from the elements. R""ognition of this
sector and its explicit inclusion in the rninisterial brief is an
innovation which came in with the new ministry. rndeeJ;.r;";-i;;
inception the MTTAT has paid relatively little attention to
institutional training. rnstead it has focused upon the provision
of infrastructure, especialry Nyayo sheds (coverei workshops), for
Jua KaIi or informal sector a.rtisans.

2.3 Informal Sector Training

untir recently very rittte was known about apprenticship and

skilI acquisition in the informal sector. The fol-IowinEi account is
based upon the information summarised in Walsh (fggf) and the
report of the ILO/SDSR survey ( 1991 ) of apprenticeship in Mombasa
and (though not directry rerevant here) Dar es saraam.

rnformaf sector training or apprenticeship in Kenya is not the

werl-defined institution bhat is found in west Africa. rts
boundaries are vague, and it brends imperceptibly into on-the-job
training of unpaid or low-paid workers. one of the symptoms of
this is the absence of a s w a h i l i w o r d specificarry
"apprentice" meaning
as opposed to a "pupil" or an "a=listant" in generar.
Nonethelessr it is not difficult- to recognise apprenticeship in a
number of forms ranging from the embryonic to the more fulry
developed, accordi'g r-o focation and type of enterprise.

The reason for this lack of definition is that recruitment to

employment and skill acquisition in the informal sector remains
very much embedded in and dependent upon existing social networks
and obligations. A significant proportion of apprentices are
related to or have some other social tie with their-employers (and
trainers), and more often than not they are members of the same
ethnic group. Generarry speaking, the role prayed by such ties
declines in importance a's the urban informal sector becomes more
deveroped and entrepreneurs have more opportunity to free
themserves from tradiL,ionar obrigations. Even in Nairobi, though,
where the informal sector is most fu1ly developed, the recruitment
of trainees is still far from being deiermined primarily by market
forces.

As a result informar sector training is onry beginning to

develop the features which are associated with apprenticeship as a
fully-fledged institution. The majority of entrepreneurs do not
charge fees for training their apprentices, neither do they offer
them written contracts. rn the many cases where there is not even
a verbal agreement, existing social ties between the entrepreneurs
and their trainees are considered sufficient to cover their mutual
obrigations and risks. rt shourd be emphasised that practice
 varies considerabry between different types of activity as wel_l as
by locabion' rn general it can be said tn*t apprenticeship is more
formalised in the more technical trades like rnoto. vehicre repair,
whil-e it is most difficult to distinguish from forms of low or
urrpaid labour in low skiLt activiti"= iik" the sale of cooked food
and beverages in roadside kiosks

Despite i ts relative ]ack of fornalisation, informal sector

training is by no means a marginal activity. ifr the available
evidence indicates that it prays a very important ror_e in the
informar sector as werr as in the wider economy. rt does so by
absorbing and training a significant and increasing number of the
unemployed, and in some cases even preparing then fo-r enployment in
the formar sector (see Annex z, raur" e). o n e r o u g" hg o re0s0t0i m a t e for
19Bg suggests that there were between 4br000 ana or even
more trainees in the informal sector nat,ionwide ( including only
off-farm employment and excluding those in trading activities).
Ersewhere it has been estimated that the informal
just s=ector produced
over 130'000 trained apprentices during the twerve months
ending in July/August 1990 (yarnbo 1991).

The most conservative of these estimates, 4br00o trainees,

exceeds the more recent figures for tota] yp enrorrment ( see
section 2,2.1). The higher estimates suggest that the informal
sector produces considerably more trainees than all of the formal
training institutions put together. Moreover, this i s achieved at
just a fraction of the cost, and none at afr to public funds.

3. MAJOR ISSUIiS IN TRAINING FOR THE INFORMAL SECTOR

This section considers the relevance, effectiveness and

efficiency of exisitng training systems, particularly as they
relate to the informal sector. ft is divided into two main parts:
the first of these examines formal education and training
together,
while the second part looks more closely at training within the
informal sector itself.

3.1 f ssues in Formal Education a.nd Training

Ib is convenient to examine the relevance, effectiveness

efficiency and
of formal education and training together. This is
because thev (and particularly the public institutions) are both
subsumed under the same poricy fram&ork, are both in the process
of implementing the g-4-4 system, and as a result share very much
the same pattern of potentials and constraints.

3.1.1 Relevance to the Informal Sector

How relevant is the existing system of formal education and

training to the development of the informal sector and the growth
of employment and skills within it? There can be no doubt that
introduction the
of the B-4*4 system, forlowed by the creation of a
ministry (l-he MTTAT) charged with coordinating previousry disparate
programmes of Lechnical training as weII as with responsibility for
Juar Kali development, has helped focus attention on the needs and
potential of the informal sector to an extent which had never been
done before.

The sLated objectives of the B-4-4 system are (a) to emphasize

technical and vocational education at the prinary and secondary
levels so that alI school-leavers have some practical knowledge to
prepare them for self-employment, wage employment or further
training leading to the same, (b) to reduce the mismatch between
the demand and the supply of skilled manpower, and (c) to mould the
attitude of youth to the world of work. While this does not make
explicit reference to the informal sector,'it is evident that the
emphasis upon technical education and training for employment
includes employment in the informal as well as the formal sector.
Data from the rLo/sDSR study ( 1991 ) of apprenticeship and skill
acquisition indicabe that formal education is a significant
component in the training of informal sector entrepreneurs and
employees. By far the majority of employees are educated, many of
them beyond primary school, while their eurployers (the
entrepreneurs ) a r e n o t i c e a b l y bettter educated on averaEie,
suggesting that educational level is an important factor in
preparation for self-employment.

Sessional Paper No.6 of 19BB (Republic of Kenya 1988b) further

emphasised the provision of technical and vocational education for
a1l at arl levers of education. As might be expected, the
translation of this into practice has not been instantaneous. Some
of the specific reasons for this are discussed under the different
headings below. More generally, however, it should be noted that
the g o v e r n m e n t ' s g oal of universal primary education, advocated in
the 19?9-83 Development PIan (Repubric of Kenya 1g7g), has yet to
attained. There is also a staggeringly high drop-out rate in the
prinary school.s. Nearly 60% of pupils drop out between Standard t-
and Standard B ' wil-h about one third dropping out in the first two
years. fn each year more students drop out than finish Standard B.
ft, has been estimated that in 1990 about 480,000 students wil} have
dropped out and only 380'000 will have graduated. Under these
circumstances it is apparent that the B-4-4 system of technical
education wilr not reach many young people even when (or if) it
becomes fully operational.

The creation of the MTTAT in 19BB and the explicit inclusion of

the Jua KaIi or productive informal sector in its portfolio must be
recognized as a major step in increasing the relevance of formal
training. For the first time technical and vocational training are
the primary responsibility of a single ministry, which, moreover,
is charged with the development of programmes of assistance for the
informal selctor. Again, however, it is necessary to draw a
distinction between the intentions of policy and their translation
into practice. rnevitabry, the latter lags behind. Leaving aside
the question of the MTTAT's own capacity (see section 3.1.3.4
below) ' it is clear that it has inherited responsibility for a wide
ranEfe of training institutions whose existing purposes and
practices cannot be transformed or rationalized overnight, even if
the ministry were to give this task ( including their modification
to serve the informal sector) ttre highest priority.
 None of the existing public training institubions were designed
specific;rIly to t,rain for eruployment or self-employmenL inthe
informal sector, especially the urban informal s e c t o r . T h e most
relevant t-o the needs of p r i m a r y school leavers a n d t h e skil-ls
required by Lrainees' likely to seek or find tliemselves i n such
employment ar.e the YPs. The CITCs and other NGO assisted s c h o ols
( see sect-ion 2,2.6 z r b o v e) n l s o play an important role at t h is
Ievel, though they are far less i,mportant than the YPs in terms of
their botal enrollment and geogrerphical coverage.

The middle leveI training institutions, including the TTfs'

ITs, NIVTCs and NPs, typically take on more secondary school
leavers (close to l-8r000 in 1990) and are not so immediately
relevant bo the informal sector, though graduates who fail to find
employment in the formal sec'bor may well be absorbed by it. fn
this context it night be noted bhat IT graduates are especially
successful in finding employment, presumably in the formal sector:
tracer studies have irrdicated that only about 2% of them remain out
of work for over Lhree years. Unfortunately comparable daLa are
not available for obher types of training. The Urban Labour Force
Survey (ULFS), conducted in 1986, does, however, provide some
indication of the sector which graduates of different kinds are
likely to be employed in. Whereas almosL a third of employed YP
graduaLes were employed in the informal sector, only negligible
nunber.s of IT, NP and NYS graduates were, the vast maiority of them
being employed in the formal sector (see Annex 2' Table 2).

I,IhiIe atbenpLs are being made to orient these institutions more

towards t h e n e e d s o f t h e i n f o r m a l s e c t o r ( s e e s e c t i o n 4 . 2 . 1 b e l o w),
limited p r o g r e s s h a s b e e n m a d e t o d a t e . T h i s c a n p a r t l y be
ascribed t o t h e f a c b t h a t t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d i m p l e n e n t a t i o n of
pro€frammes necessarily lags behind the formulation of policy.
WhiIe a relevant policy framework has ernerged in the past few
yearsr Lhe c h a l l e n g e i s n o w t o d e v i s e w a y s o f p u t t i n g i t i n to
effect ( a subject d i s c u s s e d m o r e f u } l y i n s e c t i o n 4 b e l o w ) .

3.1.2 Rel-evance l-o Women

Da'La fron t,he 1986 ULFS indicate that employment in the

informal sect-or is p r o p o r b i o n a l l y more important f o r w o m e n t h a n it
is for men ( s e b s t a d 1991). At the same time women are
underrepresented in many of the more technical and productive
activities within bhe informal sector, as w e l l a s i n the economy as
a whole. These observations lend force t o t h e arglument that
pr.ogrammes for the informal sector must g i v e s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n to
the role and participation of women.

The l(enyan education sysbem'is not gender biased, at least in

intent. Reference has already been made to the advocation of
universal educaLion for aIl in the 19?9-1983 Development Plan ( see
section 3.1-.1 above). Nonetheless, it remains a fact that in 19Bg
approx.imately B0% of Kenyan men were literate whereas only 4O% of
wonen were. While this gap might be expected to narrow over timet
there are clearly a number of obstacles which the education system
sbiIl has to overcome. There is deqply entrenched stereotyping of
gender roles irr the household as r+ell as in the workplace. Certain
occupations are widely thought of as suitable for women' while

10
others, including nost of the technical trades, are not. The
available evidence indicates that occupational stereotyping also
occurs at al1 levels of education and training. Indeed it suggests
that t h e e x i s t i n g s y s t e m i s c o n t r i b u t i n g t o r a t h e r than minimising
the effects o f o c c u p a L i o n a l s t e r e o t y p i n g a n d d i s c r i m ination.

The 8-4-4 system introduced practical subjects for all pupils

regardless of g e n d e r . L i t t l e c o n s i d e r a t i o n w a s g i v e n , h o w e v er, to
what would happen w h e r r t h i s w a s i m p l e m e n t e d . S i n c e b e f o r e K enya's
independence in 1 " 9 6 3 t h e e d u c a t i o n s y s t e n h a s f o s t e r e d g ender
stereotyping of a p p r o p r i a t e s u b j e c t s f o r s t u d y . T h e m a j o r i t y of
teachers are p r o d u c t s of t h i s s y s t e m . A l t h o u g h t h e e d u c a t i o n
system did noL bar women from pursuing tebhnical educationl it
clearly did not address the q u e s t i o n of their low p a r t i c i p a t i o n .
Most current B-4-4 teachers taught in the old system and, in the
absence of reorientation proElrammes and carefully designed efforts
towards positive discrimination, it is not surprising that in many
cases they should help reproduce the gender stereotypes whieh to
them are normal.

Occupational stereotyping is even more evident in the public

training institutions. A study by VADA ( 1 9 9 0 ) indicates that the
enrollment of women students in major training institutions is
generally much Iower' than that of men, although it increased
slightly between 1985 and 1989. Woments enrollment was highest in
the YPs: 52% in three church-sponsored YPs and 30% in the two
governmenb-sponsored YPs which were sampled. Women's enrollment in
sampled ITs was 27% of the total and was generally confined to
business education, catering, garment making and general
agriculture. A similar figure obtained in Kenya Polytechnic (in
Nairobi), where women conprised 25y" of the student enrollment. In
Mombasa Polytechnic, however, women comprised only tL% of the
student population (a drop from 2A% in 1985): a low proportion
attributed to the relative importance of Islam in the local
community. The influence of occupational stereotyping was
particularly clear in the case of Kisumu NfVTC, where women
comprised a mere I% of the enrollment in 1"989. This was'
nonetheless, an improvement over 1980 when no women were enrolled.
The proportion of women enrolled in the two TTIs which were sampled
was also low: B% overall and only 2% in technical subjects. In
this case woments low enrollment also reflects the fact that the
TTIs r zLS former Technical Secondary Schools, were designed
primarily for male students and in the absence of sufficient
resources still lack boarding and other facilities for women.

As rnight be expected, the low level of women's enrollment is

replicated i n s t a f f i n g p a t t e r n s . T e c h n i c a l w o m e n i n s t r u c t o r s in
particular are few and far between: most women teach business
education, catering, home economics, tailoringr textile and garment
making. I n a s a m p l e o f 1 8 Y P s n o w o m e n w e r e t e a c h i n g technical
subjects, w h i l e i n t h e T T I s a n d I T s w o m e n i n s t r u c t o r s were
approximabely 3 - 4 % o f t h e t o t a l t e a c h i n g s t a f f . S i n i l a r 1 y ' i n the
NPs less than 2% of Lechnical instructors w e r e w o m e n .

L1
 Efforts to change this situation focus upon the Women in
Technical Education (WITED) project at Kenya Polytechnic in
Nairobi. Ttre project is sponsored by the Commonwealth Association
of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA) with financial assistance from the
fLO and the Ford Foundation. It is based upon external counselling
aimed at motivating girls in secondary schools to enroll in
technical subjecbs aL bhe Polytechnic and other technical
institutions. It is too early to assess whether or not the WITED
project will have a significant impact, and there is clearly room
for other interventions, especially within the different public
training institulions themselves.

In contra.sb, it is no'Lable that a large proportion of the

enrollment in private training institutions comprises women. This
is presunably partly because of the barriers they face in entering
public sector institutions and partly because the latter offer
relatively few courses which aLt-ract women. This does not
necessarily mean that the private schools practise positive
discrinination in favour of women: it may just be a function of
the fact that they offer more non-technical courses (many of them
commercial ) which are consistent with woment s occupational
stereotypes. In the private sector only the NGOs are noted for
specifically targeting women as well as other economically
disadvantaged groups:' a practice which the major public sector
training institutions and many other private institutions would do
wel} to emulate.

3.1.3 Effectiveness and Efficiency

Given the existing enphases of formal education and training'

does the s y s t e m a c h i e v e i t s o b j e c t i v e s ? W i t h o ut reliable
statistical data o n t h e e m p l o y m e n t o r o t h e r w i s e o f g r a d u a tes at
different levels it is difficult to g i v e a d e f i n i t e a n s w e r t o t h i s
guestion. There are, however, sufficient indirect indications t h a t
the system does not function as well as it might do ' but i s b o t h
ineffective and inefficient. The reasons for this are manifold
and, as the following discussion w i l l indicate, c l o s e l y interwoven.
Perhaps the most serious constraint upon the effectiveness as,well
as the efficiency of formal education and training is the lack of
finance. Despite the fact that 38% of the g o v e r n m e nt budget is
spent on education ( 7 7 % of this on teachers' sal-aries)r 45% on
education and training combined, there is stilI a noticeable
shortage of money for education and training. The need to
implement B-4-4 has added to the financial burden, and in many ways
the system is severely overstretched. This has an adverse effect
upon the ability of the formal training institutions to meet their
existing objectives, not to mention their capacity to serve the
informal sector. Some of the more immediate effects of this
pattern of financial constraints are considered below.

3. 1. 3. 1 fnadequate Facilities

There is a chronic lack of equipment and other facilities in

many public training irlstitutions. This mirrors the situation in
the (primary) schools wherer 3s already noted (section 2.2.!), it
has been estimated thab less than half of the facilities required

t2
to implement the B-4-4 system are in p1ace. The public training
institutions h a v e f o u n d i t d i f f i c u l t , t o m e e t t h e d e m a n d s o f the new
system w h i l e a L t h e s a m e t i r n e c a t e r i n g f o r t h e s u p p l y o f t r ainees
(a supply which should, in theorYr be increasing with the growth of
the labour force).

Very few YPs have workshops of the required size: current

workshop c a p a c i t y i s t y p i c a l l y 1 0 - 1 5 t r a i n e e s p e r s e s s ion, a
constraint u p o n e n r o l l i n g l a r g e r c l a s s e s o f 2 0 o r m o r e w i t h o u t
causing overcrowding. Over the years the YPs have relied upon
contributions f r o m t h e c o m m u n i t y , Eiovernment a n d e x t e r n a l d o n o r s to
provide tools a n d e q u i p m e n t . T h i s p r o v i s i o n h a s b e e n t a i l o r e d
towards meeting the requirements of the GTT b'ased courses. The new
B-4-4 artisan courses r e q u i r e m o r e e q u i p m e n t a n d t r aining
materials, and many YPs a r e f i n d i n g i t d i f f i c u l t t o p r o v i d e these
as fast as the implementation s t r a t e g y e n v i s a g e s .

Lack of resor-rrces has led many YPs to gear their training to

the production of saleable p r o d u c t s . They c o n s t r u c t h o u s e s a n d
other buildings in the community, and make f u r n i t u r e a n d c l o t h e s
for sale. This has worked quite well in the context of the GTT
courses, but there is a danger that the increased d e m a n d s of the 8-
4-4 artisan courses will upset the balance and s o m e r e s t r u cturing
wil-I be necessary in order to p r e s e r v e the existing c o m b i n a tion of
training with production. The market for YP p r o d u c t s and services
could also be improved if they had more adequate equipment with
which to produce higher quality g o o d s than those turned out by
their informal sector competitors. One advantage that the YPs
already have over other producers is that they are in a good
position, through bhe influence of their Managenent Committees and
the local Development Commibtees, to secure relatively lucrative
contracts for the provision of public utilities.

There are also inadequate technical training facilities in the

TTIs. Before their recent conversion to the B-4-4 system they were
Technical Secondary Schools with a curriculum which was 28%
practical and 72% academic in orientation. As a result they
typically have more classrooms than workshops, whereas the new
curriculum requires the ratios to be reversed. Moreover, a lot of
the workshop equipment that they do have is outdated and clearly
inadequabe to teach all of the required technical courses to the
desired standard. One response of the TTIs to this situation has
been 1,o offer commercial courses which require very little
equipmerrt and can fjIl up classroom spat:e. Another inherited
problemr the lack of boarding and other facilities for women
students, has already been rnentioned above (section 3.1.2).

The provision of equipment and other facilit,ies in the ITs

varies d e p e n d i n g u p o n t h e i n p u t s f r o m t h e l o c a 1 c o m m u n i t y . The ITs
have also b e e n s u p p o r t e d b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t a n d d o n o r a g e n c i e s and
currently m o s t o f t h e m h a v e f a i r l y w e l l - e q u i p p e d w o r k s h o p s , t h o u gh
in some c a s e s t h e i r m a c h i n e r y i s o l d a n d b r e a k s d o w n r e g u l a r l y .
Like most other institutions, however, the ITs have few financial
resources and a s a c o n s e q u e n c e their workshops suffer from a
shortage of training materials. A s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n o b t a i n s i n t h e
NPs, whose eguipment is generally adequate for current teaching
programmes. Adequate facilities a n d e q u i p m e n t c a n a l s o b e found in
some of the NGO operated or a s s i s t e d t r a i r r i n g s c h o o l s , w h e r e these

13
inputs are often purchased with the help of outsi<le donor
organisations. This is nob bo say that these facilities could not
be improved and ttre NGO schools expanded: indeed, their inadequate
financial base is of'ben the major obstacle to such expansion.

3.1.3.2 S t z r ff i n g Problems

The pubJ-ic training institutions also suffer from a number of

staffing problems. There is an acute shortage of teachers in the
YPs. ft has been estimated that in the government-supported YPs
(which number 325 ) Lhere should be more than three times as many
teachers (6,825) as there currently are (2r067). There is also a
shortage o f t r a i n e d L e a c h e r s a t m o r e advanced levels, in the
dif f erent institutes :rnd NPs. This varies, however, from one
course to another as well as between instibutions; and in some
individual cases overstaffing is reported.

In addition to Lhe general shortage of staff, ttrere is also an

acute lack of Leachers and Lrainers wibh adequate qualifications
and experience Lo implement the 8-4-4 system effectively. In the
YPs, for c.xzrmpl-e, the majority of teachers are primary school
leavers with GTT I or II, whereas lhe MTTAT would prefer that each
course should have at' leeust two teachers with secondary educati-on
and Crafb fI or GTT I. There is therefore a considerable need to
upgrade the skills of t,eachers and reorient them to 8-4-4, as well
as to recruil- new ;r.nd nore highly qualified teachers.

As well as being under-quatified, many trainers have

insufficient l<rrowledge and experience of the informal sector to be
able to providc ef fe'ct ive services to it. For example, as it result
of their training background and current terms of service, many
trainers do nol; have & practical grasp of mana.Element and other
skiIls whj.ch are required to operate informal sector enterprises.
This suggests l-hzrt- there is also a need t-o retrain and reorient
brainers in the pracLices and activities relevant to i;he informal
sector if t.hey a-r:e to provide appropriate consultarncy and advisory
services.

Meanwhile Lrainers' commitment to their work has been eroded as

a result of bight budgetary controls and the conseguent lack of
Lraining support rnaberials as well as what many of thern feel are
inadequate levels of renumeration. Staff morale is low and numbers
of insbruct ors a.nd lecturers are leaving for alterrrative
employment, i-nciuding employment in thc. private sector.

3.1.3.3 Incre:rsing Cosl-s arrd Declining Enrollment

There can be litt,le doubt bhat the f:r,ctors outlined above have
adversely :rffecLed the quarlity of training offered by many formal
training institutions. A document issued by the Ministry of
Planning and National Development (Republic of Kenya 1990 )
acknowledges this fact and refers t-o Lhe low and declining quality
of the YPs and I T s w h i c h is reflected in their declining
enrollments. This de.cline in enrollnent is also remarked in a
recent study of YPs in TaiLa/TaveLa District (DANIDA 1990). It was
also noted Lhert YP leavers with GTT certificates were often unable

t4
to f ind empJ-oyment without being appren'ticed to an established
entrepreneur first. The implication drawn from this is that
parents wil-l- be less than willing to pay for both YP training and
apprerrl-iceship if it' turrrs out that the latter -alone can lead to
employment: a circudrstance which would help to explain declining
enrollment

There is considerable evidence to suggest that the rising costs

of training coupled with its declinirrg quality are important
factors in the current pabtern of under-enrollment and its
corollary, the underutilisation and./or inefficient use of
resources. Technical training is generally more expensive than
academic education, and the increased burden to parents and others
(exacerbated by the demand for facilities and equipment with which
to implement the B-4-4 system) is a serious disincentive to
enrollment,, especially where the quality of t,raining is seen to
have decline-'d and the chances of it reading to employment ( for
whatever reasons) are l-ess than they once were.

YP enrollment has crearly declined in recent years, and

evidence fron a ret;ent survey (Ngare l-991b) shows that some courses
have less Lhan 10 trainees. This decline is at l-east partry
attributed t-o a corresponding increase in the cost of f ees, ttt"
same source cites current fees of between 1,800 Kshs. and Zr75O
Kshs. per annum, excluding additional levies for student
registral.ion, the provision of facilities and a variety of other
purposes. Under these circumsbances it is not surprising that some
parents prefer to place bheir children in informal sector
apprentir:eship where the fees, if they are paid at- alr, are
generally much lower and wirl cover the whole (generarly open-
ended) period of apprenticeship, during which the apprentice may
also be $iven some cash earnings and/or provisions in kind such as
free accomodation or: meals.

The TTfs are also under-enrolled. Current enrollment in the

TTrs is only three-quarbers of that envisaged. one reason for
this, already discussed above ( section 3.1.3.1 ) is that facilities
in the TTIs do not match current requirements. ff this has not
been enough t-o deter some potential students then recent increases
in fees have. These are now three times higher than second.ary
school fees, and have increased because of the shortage of funds,
especially government grants, for the purchase of the training
mat,erials and construction of facilities which the TTIs lack.
These fees are too high for some parents and potential trainees,
and enrollment hers fallen as a result.

The TTIs' Iike other medium-level institutions, are also

underutilised with respect to their potential for attracting
trainees from outside of the formal sector. While their machinery
and training facilities are generally superior to those found in
the informar sector, littre attempt has been made to attract
trainees from Lhis quarter'. TTI machinery usually Iies idl-e every
evening from 5pm onwards, all day at weekends, and for a whole
three monLhs during annual vacations. It night be added that one
of the disincentives to utilising this spare capacity is and has
been the fact bhat instructors are generally not olfered extra
payments or overtime for work undertaken dr.rring such periods.

15
 The fTs have an even lower rate of enrollment than *'he TTIs:
about 6O% of their capaciLy. IT fees are as high as 10'000 Kshs.
per annum in some cases, a sum wtrich many potential trainees and
their f a m i l i e s s i m p l y . c a n n o L a f f o r d .

The NPs are perhaps better utilised in t,hat they offer evening
courses a n d s h o r t c o u r s e s d u r i n g t h e h o l i d a y s . T h e s e c o u r s es are
mainly g e a r e d t o f o r m a l s e c t o r t r a i n i n g , t h o r r g h s o m e e f f o r t s ( for
example in Mombasa) a r e b e i n g m a d e t o s u p p o r t s m a l l a n d i n f o r m al
sector enterprises. I n g e n e r a l i t i s d j - f f i c u l t f o r i n f o r m a l s e c t or
entrepreneurs t o : r f f o r d t h e h i g h r a t e s c h a r g e d , a n d t h e s k i l l
improvernent courses w h i c h a r e s o m e t i m e s o r g a n i s e d i n t h e N P s ( ."
well as other institutions) t e n d t o h a v e a v ' e r y p o o r t u r n o u t .

Turning to the private sector institutions' some of the CITCs

suffer from the same p r o b l e m s o f f i n a n c e , p o o r e q u ipment and under-
enrollment as their c o u n t e r p a r t s i n t h e p u b l i c s e c t or. By
contrast, some NGO operated o r a s s i s t e d i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e u t i l i s e d
to capacity, and the demand for their training services far
outstrips their ability to supply i t w i t h o u t f u r t h e r f u n d i n g for
expansion.

Despite such exceptions, the overall s,ituation f acing the

formal training insLitutions is clearly a ' d i f f i c u l t o n e . T he
existing sysbem is neither as effective n o r a s e f f i c i e n t a s it
could be, quite aside from the q u e s t i o n of its a . b i l i t y t o s e r v e t h e
informal sector and disadvantaged g r o u p s within i t . T h e r e a s o n s
for this ar.e complex, but at the most transparent level revolve
around the issues discussed in this and p r e c e d i n g s e c t i o n s . Other
shortcomirrgs of the system could be adduced: the 8 - 4 - 4 c u r r i c u l um,
for. example, has been criticised in some q u a r t e r s f o r t h e m ale-
oriented and insufficienl-ly diversified content of its courses and
i1,s continuing orientation towards examinations and further
educat,ion ral-her l,han employment. The main difficultyr however,
focuses upon the inLerrelated problems of financial constraint,
inaclequal.e facilities and equipment, insufficient trained staff '
the increasing costs of trzrining, the declining quality of
trai-ni1g, declining enrollmerrt, and the underutilisation of
available resources.

3. 1.3.4 MirrisLerial Capacity and Coordination

Before turning to see how informal sector training fares by

comparison, a f e w w o r d s s h o u l d b e s a i d a b o u t t h e c u r r e n t c a p a c i t y
of the MTTAT, especially in terms of its ability to coordinate
efforts t o t a c k l e t h e p r o b l e m s d i s c u s s e d a b o v e a n d the various
challenges w h i c h l i e a h e a d .

As already noted (section 2.2.10) the MTTAT was only created in

March 1988. N o t s u r p r i s i n g l y , i t h a s still not reached its full
capacity. The M T T A T c u r r e n t l y h a s iust t w o d e p a r t m e n t s , t h e DIT
and the DTTAT ( D i r e c t o r a t e o f T e c h n i c a l T r a i n i n g a n d A p p l i e d
Technology). A1l the a u t h o r i s e d h e a d q u a r t e r s a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s t a f f
positions for 1991/92, 234 i n a l l , h a v e b e e n f i l l e d . A t P r o v i n c i a l
level almost all arrthorised positions, 55 out of 58, have also been
filled. At District level, h o w e v e r , less than half of the
authorised positions have b e e n f i I l e d , I 2 O p o s i t i o n s o u t o f a t o t al

16
of ZBO (yambo 1991 ). This means that the MTTAT does rrot yeL have
fully effective means of coordinating and monitoring technical
training at the local level.

Another problem which remains to be tackled is the overlap in

functions and duties between t h e M T T A T a n d o t h e r m i n i s t r i e s : t h e
Ministry of Industry ernd more p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e M i n i s t r y o f M a n p o w e r
Developrnent and Employmen't. Yambo ( 1 9 9 1 ) p o i n t s o u t t h a t i t i s n o t
clear, for example, how the MTTAT can operate effectively without
being significantly involved in manpower f o r e c a s t i n g a n d p l a nnin$'
which is specifically the function of the l a t t e r m i n i s t r y and to
some extent the DPM

These observations echo those in the current five-year

development plan ( 1989-L993 ), where reference is m a d e t o the fact
that although there are a large number of training i n s t i t u t i o n s in
the country, their coordination and control is s t i l l b e l o w
expectations. The lack of consistent and up-to-date o f f i c i a l
statistics on lunbers of trainers, trainees and even the training
institutions themselves is a clear reflection of this. More
seriously, iL encourages the duplication of effort as w e l l a s the
underutj-lisation of training capacity ( R e p u b l i c of Kenya 1 9 B g)'
The creation of the MTTAT represented a very important step in
tackling this problem. At the same time it is evident t h a t
continuing attention t,o the problerm highlighted in the p l a n will b e
required.

3.2 Issues in Informal Sector Training

3.2.1 The Relevance of Informal Sector Training

It goes without s;rying that informal sector training or

apprenticeship i s r e l e v a n t t o t h e i n f o r m a l s e c t o r , a n d i t s g e n e r a l
iirportance i n t h i s r . e g a r d h a s a l r e a d y b e e n d i s c u s s e d a b o v e ( s e c t i o n
2.3 ) . At the same time it has to be remembered that infornal
sector training d o e s n o t h a v e a n y o b j e c t i v e s i n t h e s e n se of a
stated or agreed p r o g r a m m e , a n d a s s u c h c a n n o t b e e x p e c ted to
conform neatly t-o the g o v e r n m e n t t s p r o g r a m m e f o r t r a i n i n g or
perception of its role. T h e i n f o r m a l s y s t e m , i f i t c a n be
described as one, is v e r y m u c h t h e c u m u l a t i v e a n d i n s o m e r e s p e c t s
unintended outcome of decisions taken by the very large number of
individual acbors who a r e a p a r t o f i t . E n t r e p r e n e u r s t a k e on and
train apprentices for a v a r i e t y o f r e a s o n s w h i c h are not
necessaril-y coordinate with t h e o b j e c t i v e s o f f o r m a l t r a i n i n g
prograr.nmes. The f act that the o v e r a . l - l o u t c o m e i s i n m a n y r e s p e c ts
Lorr"orr..tt with national needs a n d i n t e r e s t s g i v e s v i v i d t e s t i m o n y
.bo the posit ive role of p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e a n d i t s c a p a c i t y f or
self-regulated development, w h i c h e v e r s e c t o r i t i s i n .

Informal sector training absorbs Iarge numbers of school

leavers as well as the graduates of formal t r a i n i n g i n s t i t u t i ons
(see section 3.1.3.3 above). Moreover, it does so a t r e l a t i v e l y low
cost to bhe trainees and their families, a n d i s t h e r e f o r e of
particular significance in making training a c c e s s i b l e t o t h o s e w i t h
lower incomes. This should not* be baken to indicate, h o w e v e r r t h a t

I7
the informal system could not be more relevant than it is. while
there are no r.eliable estimates of the overall p r o p o r t i o n of
apprentices who secure employment, there is evidence t o s u g g e s t
ttrat the system does not satisfy the aspirations o f t h e l a r g e
who would Iike to start their own enterprises as
number of trainees
opposed to being enployed by others though it n a y w e l l b e t h a t
this reflects the abilities of and opportunities o p e n t o d i f f e r e n t
groups of apprentices raLher than any intrinsic shortcoming in the
training itself.

While informal sector training is generally more readily

accessible to low income candidates than fornal t r a iningt
significant barriers to entry still exist. One of these, ethnic
bias, has alrearJy been alluded to above (section 2.3). In this
respect the informal system fares somewhat 1ltorse than formal
=y=1"*, t h o u g h i t a p p e a r s t h a t t h e r o l e o f s u c h a s c r i p t i v e t i e s is
diminishing w h e r e t h e i n s t i t u t i o n o f a p p r e n t i c e s h i p i s m o st
developed. T h e i n f o r m a l s y s t e m i s a l s o n o t m u c h m o r e e f f e c t i v e
than its forrnal counterpart in countering gender bias' In many
informal sector o c c u p a t i o n s g e n d e r s t e r e o t y p e s r e m a i n v e r y much in
force, and i t i s u n u s u a l t o f i n d w o m e n a p p r e n t i c e s i n many
production o r r e p a i r o r i e n t e d a c t i v i t i e s , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e w h i c h are
for the s a m e r e a s o n ) n o s t r e a d i l y a s s o c i a t e d i n t h e p u b l ic
?partly
nind with ttre Jua Kali: motor vehicle repair, metalwork and
There i s n o e v i d e n c e t o s u g g e s t t h a t t h i s g e n d e r b i as
carpentry.
wiII disappear or e v e n d e c l i n e s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n t h e i m m e d i a te
future.

3.2.2 The Effectiveness and Efficiency of Informal sector

Training

The fact that informal sector training is still very much tied
to the web of existing social r e l a t i o n s a n d p r a e t i ce has some
negative conseguences for its e f f e c t i v e n e s s a n d e f f i c i e n c y . While
the extent to n"tti"n this is the c a s e v a r i e s c o n s i d e r a b l y a c c o r ding
to location and type of enterprise, i t s g e n e r a l i m p l i c a t i o n i s the
same: if apprenticeship was further d e v e l o p e d a n d f o r n a l i s e d a s an
institution, then it could be e v e n m o r e i m p o r t a n t , b o t h
quantitatively and qualitatively, t h a n i t a l r e a d y i s .

An important aspect of the inefficiency of existing practice is

the time taken to train individual apprentices. I n s o m e c a s e s t h i s
than it would to train to the same level (though
takes much longer
perhaps without the same degree of p r a c t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e ) in a
?o"*r1 training institution. One the reasons f o r t h i s i s t h a t
informal sector training is typically carried out unsystematically'
stuctured around everyday business ( including the
and is often
prevailing pattern of customers' orders) rather t h a n t h e n e e d to
train the apprentice to carry out specific tasks until t h e y c a n be
perforned without supervision. In extreme cases w h e r e t h e
apprentice stays for five or more years it may be difficult t o d r a w
.-ii1riaing l ine between apprenticeship and cheap labour. A special
instance of this is when the apprentice is a fanily member destined
(perhaps) to take over the business at some unspecified future
date.

1B
 When the training of apprentices is inefficient in this way it
affecbs the overall output of the training system. If time and
resources are used more efficiently and the process of training is
more focused Lhen correspondingly more apprent-ices can be taken on
and trained. The av'ailable evidence suggests that the informal
sector can absorb many more apprentices than are trained aL
present: indeed orr one es.t-imate the total number of trainees could
be more than doubled sinply by filling up the existing
underutilised capacity. In some contexts (as revealed by the data
from Mombasa) this pattern of underutilisation seems to have arisen
because entrepreneurs are experiencing difficulty in recruiting
capable apprentices, a reflection of the facL that many of them are
no longer happy to take on trainees primarily for social reasons,
but are b e g i n n i n g t o p u t m o r e s t r i c t l y e c o n o m i c c o n s i d e rations
first.

In this and other respecLs the informal system is already

moving towards a g r e a t e r d e g r e e o f e f f e c t i v e n e s s a n d e f f i c i ency,
and p r e s u m a b l y it w i l l c o n t i n u e t o d e v e l o p i n t h e s a m e d i r e ction.
ft already complements and in some ways works better than the
formal training system. It certainly does not suffer from the
complex of seemingly insuperable problems which currently afflict
the p u b l i c training institutions. This suggests that informal
sector training shoulil play an increasingly important role in the
formulation of national training policies: any attempt to ignore
its contribution would surely be in grave error.

REORIENTING TRATNING TOWARDS THE INFORMAL SECTOR

Examination of the current situation of education and training

in Kenya in relation to the informal sector (section 3 above)
reveals a number of shortcomings. There is clearly considerable
scope for improving both the formal and informal training systems.
Moreover, given existing constraints upon the allocation of
financial resources in the public sector, coupled with the low cost
and greater potential for expanding informal sector training, it
would seem prudent to direct increasing attention at the latter.
The sections which follow take up this theme in the context of
current government policy, looking at some of the steps which have
already been taken and others that have been sugglested or night be
considered.

4.L Current Government Policy

This section out,lines current government policy as it directly

affects education and training and their interaction with the
informal sector. At Lhe outset it should be stressed that this
policy is evolving, and in some respects is evolving very quickly.
Training policy has not been consolidated into a single docunent,
and although the MTTAT is now the training ministry, not all
published policy statements have been issued by it. Indeed' many
of them predate its creation in March 1988. The background to this
situation has alreardy been descri-bed in section 3.1.3.4 above.

19
 The Kamunge Report (Republic of Kenya 19BBa) emphasised the
provision of vocert ional and enbrepreneurial skilIs among the
objectives of Kenya's training policy. The current developnent
plan (Republic of Kenya 19Bg) makes it clear that- the objectives of
this policy are to nabch the supply with the demand for 1abour,
engender Clrea.ber self reliance, and provide adequate indigenous
skilled nanpower. It also st.resses the introduction of cost-
sharing tretweerr trainees and the government. More recently, a
policy document j.ssued by the Ministry of Planning and National
Development (Republic of Kenya 1990) has referred to the "Iarge
untapped potential for training in both the informal- and the formal
secbors". This signals a new interest in training within the
informal sector, nobing that this training is by no means inferior
and l,hal- informal sector errtrepreneurs might be given incentives to
train new entranl,s Lo the labour force.

The Ndegwa Report (Repubric of Kenya 1gg1a) discusses the

financing of education and training in greater detail. The
following is a brief synopsis of its main argument. The costs of
educatiorr and training have always been shared between the
government, parentsr local conmunities and private businesses,
while external donors have made significant contributions to the
development of facj.lil,ies. Nonetheless a number of problems have
emerged antl the government's contribution to education has grown
from 33% to 3B% in four years. This high figure adds substantially
to the governmentts deficit and places a significant constraint on
the government's abiliby to stabilise the economy. The government
assumes a very substanbial proportion of total costs at the post-
secondary level for teacher training, technical training and
university education ( see Annex 2, Table 3) . These high
proportions suggest bhat there is scope for greater cost sharing
and cost recovery at these levels of education, cushioned by
bursaries for those who cannot pay.

Elsewhere it is stated bhat the Eiovernment's intention is to

reduce the budgert ceiling for education from 38% to zg%. rt is
clear that under bhese circumstances cost sharing will have to
increase considerablyr especiall-y if student enrollments grow over
time as t,hey rnight be expected to. Indeed the Ndegwa Report also
recommends raising the ratio of pupils to teachers in primary
school.s f roru 33: 1 to 40: 1 . An expansion of training opportunities
is also envisaged before the turn of the century. This includes an
increase in the number of YPs from less than 600 to 1 ,400 with an
enrollment of some 150r000 trainees. The Ndegwa Report also
recommends & substantial increase in technical training places
available bo secondary school }eavers aL the TTrs and rTs,
suggesting bhzrt this could be financed with some of the savings
from a posLponement of the plan to strengthen technical education
in the primary and secondary schools. rt is argued that this may
be a more efficient way to attain the objectives which originally
inspired the B-4-4 reforms. Meanwhile, the role prayed by NGos in
supporting vocational and technical training (for example in the
YPs) is commended, and it is recommended that such efforts should
be encouraged.

20
 notes that current arrangements will
The Ndegwa Repor:t further
o f t h e K e n y a t s n a j o r e d u c a t i o n and
not le.d to the achievement
goals before the end o f t h e c e n t u r y . L i s t e d i n o r d e r of
training
priority, these goals are g i v e n a s ( 1 ) a g o o d q u a l i t y u n i v e r s a l
(2.) the Lli-mination of adult illiter&cYr (3) a
primary education-,
curriculum a t t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s , a n d ( 4) a
changed and modernised
follow-up of primary education i n v o c a t i o n a l t r a i n i ng
vigolous
p"Jg".m"=. In recogrrition of the f a c t t h a t t h e s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m
dangier of tecoming overloaded a n d c o u l d b e f u r t h e r
is in
the Ndegwa Report also w e l c o m e s t h e d e c i s i o n o f t he
rationalised,
of Education 1o iniliate a review o f t h e 8 - 4 - 4 s y s t e m w i th
Ministry
involvement of the Kenya N a t i o n a l u n i o n o f T e a c h e r s
the active
been made t o t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n t h a t
(KNUT). Reference has already
expanding the technical c o m p o n e n t o f t h e s c h o o l
plans for
should be reassessed in view of t h e s e r i o u s r e s o u r c e
Lurriculum
constraints f a c i n g t h e c o u n t r Y '

perspective, more directly relevant to

A somewhat different
for the informal sector, is outlined i n t h e r e c e n t
training
Paper No.2 of september 1991 on Small E n t e r p r i s e a n d J u a
sessional
of Kenya 1991c) ' T h i s p a p e r
Kali Development in Kenva (Republic
t t t " * . r " t o f a s p e c i a t task force set up by the
stems f r o m
in March L98? to review all p o l i c i e s t o p r o r n o t e the
governnent
sector, espeeially the regulatory environment' I t b e g i ns
informal
that in the current development p l a n new e m p l o y m e nt
by noting
over the five year period 1989-1993 is targeted a t l - '9
creation
jobs, of which about 3I% ot 58?,000 are expected t o b e i n
million
sector'(defined to include alI enterprises e m p l o y i n g
the informal
p e r s o n s ) . M o r e a c t i v e p r i v a t e s e c t o r involvement will be
up to 5O
to reach this goal. To date (the p a p e r continues)
required
has b e e n p o o r a n d n u c h o f t h e g r o w t h o f t h e informal
coordination
s p o n L a n e o u s r e s p e c i a l l y a m o n g t h e s m a l l e r J ua Kali
sector has been
Very few small enterprises have graduated into the
enterprises.
formal sector. The paper therefore discusses measures designed to
enabling environment through deregulation and the
impr:ove the
provision of incentives and infrastructure'

Significant attention is also paid to gender issues' The paper

disadvantaged despite their apparent
notes thab women are still
equality with men. I t i s a r g u e d t h a t w o m e n t s p a r t i c i pation
legal
force is constrained b y t h e i r r n u l t i p l e r o l e s and the
in the labour
division of Iabour, a s w e l l a s b y t r a d i t i o n a l a t t itudes
trarlitional
p r a c t i c e s . T h e s e f a c t o r s h a v e t o b e taken
and deep-roo'Led cultural
and p r o g r a m m e d e s i g n . I t i s a l s o a s s e rted
into account in planning
access to education d o e s n o t g u a r a n t e e s u c c e s s ful
that
Lhough it does e n h a n c e w o m e n t s a b i l i t y t o e n b ark
entrepreneurship,
enterprise a c t i v i t i e s , t o I i n k u p w ith
upon non-tradiiionat
innovation in p r o d u c t i o n a n d t o p e n e t r a t e i n to
tlchnologicat
and institutions t h a t c o n t r i b u t e t o p o l i c y or
organisaiiorr=
p"Ig".*e development for the informal s e c t o r . T h e p a P e r s u g g e s t s
and especially credit o r i e n t e d i n t e r v e n t i o n s a r e
!n.i financial
help women. This is coupled w i t h a c a l l f o r t h e
needed to
technology which women entrepreneurs can
development of appropriate
and which th"y ".tt learn to use a n d m a i n t a i n w i t h e a s e '
afford

21
 Whi I e priority is given to credit, a signif icant part of the
paper is devoted Lo t.he discussion of training interventions. One
of these i s a p r o p o s e d r e v i s i o n o f t h e I n d u s t r i a l T r a i n i n g A c t so
that banks a n d d e v e l o p m e n t f i n a n c e i n s t i t u t i o n s c a n u s e t h e
Training L e v ] F u r r d ( b o w h i c h t h e y a n d m e d i u m a n d - I a r g e s c a l e f i r m s
contribgte) Lo l-rain their small scale enteprise clients. It is
alsg stated Lhat t h e M T T A T , i n c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h t h e T r e a s u r y a n d
the DPM, will establish a s p e c i a l t r z r i n i n g f u n d f o r s m a l l s c a l e
enterpreneurs wibtr cont-ribubions from the government, the private
sector: and l-he donor c o m m u n i t Y .
"a more dynamic
The paper further declares the need to promote
enberprise cu1ture". To this end the uriiversities and other
training insbitutions will ( i t i s s a i d ) i n t r o d u c e e n t r e p r e neurship
education in their degree and diplorna p r o E i r a m m e s . M e a n w hile the
MTTAT, working in collaboration with o t h e r r e l e v a n t o r g a n i s a t i o n s '
will conduct periodic marke'L surveys to identify skills and
abilities needed in the small e n t e r p r i s e s e c t o r . I t w i l l a lso
provide . b r a i n i n g to enbrepreneurs and their e m p l o y e e s i n t h e c h o i ce
and tlse of new technologies, conduct market surveys t o i d e n t i f y
opportunities for product diversification and development r identify
1ew markets in rural areas, develop mass media techniques to
disseminate information on self-employment and entrepreneurship,
establish rurerl business centres that are accessible to women, and
develop curricula for apprenticeship courses so that an orglanised
approach to training can be adopted. It is also stated that
graduates of apprenticeship programmes ( i n the formal sector?) will
be accorded opportunitiesr on a cost-sharing basis, to continue
atteldirrg short refreslrer courses pertaining to self-employmentt
enl;repreneursltip development and skills enhancement.

The paper also discusses the need to recruit professionally

qualified staff, especially women, in both the private and public
organisations which promote enterprise development. To this end
NGOs are to be encouraged to develop their training functions to
assist obher agencies in small enterprise staff development on a
commercial basis and to develop special programmes for women
enbrepreneul.s. The DPM, for its own part, is to Eive priority to
training progirammes aimed at small enterprise development and
identify women officers for training. Promotional agencies t
especialty those in the public sector, will be charged with rnaking
greater use of exisLing entrepreneurs and artisans, particularly
women, in their training programmes. It is proposed that the MTTAT
will pr.ovide Lraining to entrepreneurs and their employees in
Lechnical a n d m a n a g e r i a l s k i l l s a s w e l l a s e n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p , in
a d c l, i l , i o n t o p r o v i d i n g a v a r i e t y o f e x t e n s i o n s e r v i c e s a n d
assistance o f m o r e s p e c i f i c k i n d s . I n t h i s c o n t e x t i t i s s u g g e s t e d
that it would be more cost-effective (and therefore necessary) to
select clients w h o s e s m a l l e n t e r p r i s e s h a v e t h e h i g h e s t p o t e n t i a l
of benefiting from bhis assistance. Overall, a greater attempt is
to be made to develop p r o g r a m m e s w h i c h a r e s e l f - f i n a n c i n g . This
concludes Lhe relevant p r o p o s a l s f r o m t h e S e s s i o n a l P a p e r .

22
4.2 Redefining Training

fn reviewing these different policy statements two general

observations can be made. One, and no doubt the most important, is
that a policy environment has developed in which the existing
system of forrnal education and training is viewed critically, while
training for the informal sector is seen in a. much more positive
tight ttrarr it ever hars been before. The second observation is that
the specific measures proposed do not always go as far or even take
the same course as the analysis in section 3 above suggests that
bhey night. ft should be recalled, however, that these proposals
are culled from documents which have other, more general, purposes
in mind. Within the MTTAT and other agencie's involved discussion
is more sharply focused upon the relevant issues and possible
solutions Lo them.

The purpose of this final section is to explore, albeit

briefly, some of the more concrete suggestions that have arisen
with a view t,o redefining training so that it is more appropriate
to the needs and potential of the informal sector.

4.2.1. New Uses for Existing InsLitutions

It is widely a€lreed that the existing public training

instituLions possess the capacity, at least in theory, to service
the informal sector in skill upgrading, product diversification,
quality improvement, and resezrrch for appropriate technology. The
MTTAT argues for a more flexible pattern of training linkages as
well as the need to increase training opportunities through the
expansiorr and max.lmum utilisation of al1 the different kinds of
t.raining insl-iLution. The ninistry also emphasises the need for a
more flexible pattern of attendance so that these institutions can
be used for exbra classes throughout the year. It is expected that
they will organise short courses on a fee-paying basis during the
evenings and holidays for informal sector artisans as well as for
workers in the formal sector. Training institutions have also been
advised t.o i-n.iL.iat,e other acl-iviL,-ies which will- make them more self
reliant: l-hese .include the setting up production units, as well as
doing outside .research and consulLancies where possible.

In conjunction wiih this ori-entation towards the informal

sector (on a cost sharing basis) the MTTAT's training institutions
are also being encouraged to make more provision for the training
of women. This is taken to mean the provision of more courses
geared l-owards women and women's activities, as well- as efforts to
break down existing patterns of gender stereotyping in informal and
formal sector employment. In some cases, for example in the TTIs,
it al so re<luires bhe prov'ision of boarding and other physical
ftrcilities for women.

How will these ideas work out in practice? MTTAT has already
begun.various activities to help orient the public training
institutions towards Lhe informal sector. In 1990 a skil-l training
course for informal sector artisans was conducted at Karen CRT,
where an in-service course for-YP managers and instructors was also
held (with another planned for 1991 ). The aim of the latter was to
introduce the new artisan courses in the YPs now supported by the

23
 MTTAT. These courses are geared to the objectives of the B_4_4
system, not to the GTTs as the traditionar yp courses
other are. rn
respects, though, the YPs require relatively little
orientation towards the informal sector, given,that their Iinks to
it are already fairly close, at least from the point of view of the
many trainees who move from one to the other.

Perhaps the most crucial question for the MTTAT is whether

not and how formal- training or
institutions at craft and technician
levers can best serve the inforrral sector.
'already some institutions have
established small business centres, while the rrs - largely
in the interests of achieving a greate" r..=r""
- have estatrlished of financial self
reliance production units to enable them to sell
commodities to the rocal community. This capacity-r,as yet to be
fully developed in the TTIs, one problem being the need for extra
facilities other than those used in everyday t-rai.rinJ ( see section
3.1.3.1 above). Another possibility, which remains largely
unexplored, is that trainees in institulions like the NTVTCs could
be attached bo enLerprises in the informar sector. rn the past
such attachments have normally been with industry and the formal
sector: at present, however, there are insufficient
places for trainees attachment
to filt.

The most obvious link, however, is for some of the pubric

institutions to offer skill upgradin€l courses and other services
informal to
sector entrepreneurs and artisans. some institutions
alreadv offer skill upgrading i n e v e n i n j " p ecrl iaosds. e s of one and a half
hourst duration held over r .rirr" month - These courses are
popurar wibh public sector employees. unr"lt"r.ti" b h e i r c o st
(300-700 Kshs. per month) ,o.t"" them too expensive f o r m a ny
potentiar clients from the informal sector. An arternative t o t h i s
which has kreen considered is to offer special short courses at more
manageable prices: experience suggests that courses of up-;"-;;;
week in length are popular wth infornal
sector artisans if they are
reasonably priced. rt ha-s been suggested that the NrVTCs,
currently underutirised, courd be readiiy adapted to this purpose.
rf these straLegies are to be implemented. orr any scare then
is clear thab some preparatory it
*ork wilr have to be done. T h i s
incrudes the reorientation of instructors towards giving c o u r s e s
which are succint, cast at the right rever and ".r, satisfy the
needs of informar- sector entreprerr"rr"" or their apprentices. M ost
important of arl, perhaps, is the need to estabrish
greater w i t h m uch
certainty what exactry the training requirements a nd
capabilities of potential inforrnal secLor clients are. T h i s is
also one of the most pertinent of the proposals made in the rggl
sessional Paper discussed in section 4.-1 above.
As anarysed by Yambo ( 1991
), the MTTAT itself does not require
any new frrnctions, but primariry a rationalisation of its current
terms of reference vis-a-vis the Ministry of rndustry a nd the
Ministry of Manpower Development and Emproyment (see s ection
3'l-'3'4 above)' rt seems most feasibre at present to strengthen
the ministry's existing functions. while there is certainfy room
for better monitoring and evaruation, the extensive gathering and

24
processing of labour market data is more properly t,he function of
the Minisl-ry of Labour and the CenLral Bureau of Statistics. Yambo
argues that under such circumsbances il- would not be practical for
the MTTAT to undertake such t-asks itself, except to ensure that its
data requiremerrts are satisf ied.

4,2.2 Training Within the Informal Sector

Ttre alternative to providing training for the informal sector

is to strengthen training by it, in other words to increase both
the efficiency and the effectiveness of ttr. existing system of
apprenticeship so thaL the quality of training is improved and the
number of trainees expanded. The information presented in earlier
sections should be sufficient to indicate that this is possible,
not to mention that it provides an attractive option in view of the
obvious financial constraints upon the expansion ( if not the
reorientation) of the public training institutions.

The challenge in this case is to design appropriate

interventions in a field which is largely untested. Mosb of the
pioneering work on tiris topic has been and is being done by the
II,O/SDSR Project based in Nairobi. Following the results of its
1991 survey of informal sector training in Mombasa and Dar es
Salaam, and drawing upon the experience of work with informal
sector artisans in Zanzibar, the ILO/SDSR has already outlined a
pilob proElranme for execution in Mombasa, followed by other urban
cenLres in Kenya. The purpose of this programme is to build upon
insights p r o v i d e d b y t h e e a r l i e r survey and begin by tackling the
problems of inefficiency and underutilised training capacity in
selected subsectors and enterprises. It is, of course, too early
to say how this programme will develop: the first step is to
identify a g r o u p of potential clients and determine their needs and
capabiliLies in much greater detail than is currently available.

At this stage it is only possible to indicate some of the broad

opti-ons. One kind of intervention would be to encouragie the
utilisation of spare training capacitv (in cases where it exists),
perhaps by providing incentives to enbreprenuers to take on more
trainees. Atr the same time it night be feasible to target
particular groups who are underrepresented or face barriers in
entering inforrnal secl-or training. The most inportant of these
groups are womenr who are marginal participants in many productive
activibies despite their overrepresentation in informal sector
employmenL in general. Whe'bher or not incentives could a1so be
designed bo address ottrer imbalances, such as regional or ethnic
bias in trainee recruitment, seems more doubtful, though may weII
be worth considering.

As an alterrnative or in addition to training more apprentices,

entrepreneurs might be'encouraged to train them more efficienbly
and to higher standards. One way to do this might be to provide
appropriate back-up training through existing public institutions,
perhaps in bhe form of evening or weekend courses and modules.
Anottrer would be to provide incentives f or trainers 'to prepare
their apprentices for the GTTs or artisan/craft certificates in
cases where l-his would be appropriate. In order to improve the
quality of training at,Lention might also be paid to upgrading the

25
skills of the errtrepreneurs themselves. In the Zanzibar programme
mentioned above carpenters were encouraged to improve the
efficiency of their training by focusing upon the steps involved
and the t-ime they took to train others to produce particular items.
This is one way of'showing entrepreneurs what can be achieved by
taking training out of the context of everydery production, and also
a way of upgrading the skills of other producers.

One final suggestion, which is linked to all of these possible

interventions, is to offer credit as the incentive to entrepreneurs
to take on more apprentices and improve the quality of their
training. In this way the strengthening of training systems can be
Iinked directly to efforts to address another maj& Jonstraint to
growth in the informal sector

This is perhaps an ideal field for NGOs and other agencies to

work in. The NGos have a. good record of setting relevant
objectives, of working with disadvantaged groups, of being flexible
in their approach and relatively effective in the provision of low
cost training services. Moreover, it may well be possible to find
appropriate ways to link informal sector training to the services
offered by the public training institutions, and thus establish a
useful division of labour between the government and other
implementing agencies.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

rt should be emphasised that this paper by no means represents

the finar word on the different subjects it touches upon. This
applies in particular to the discussion (in section 4 above) of
possible strategies to reorient training towards or otherwise in
support of l-he inf ormal- sector and the creation of employment
within it,. rn the absence of more comprete data on many points
(and so l-he sparsiby of statistics in Annlx 2) bhis paper claims to
provide no more bhan a basic description and set of-guiaelines for
furt,her research, discussion and no doubt extensive modification.
rndeed' if it -is Lo be aL arr usefur, it is hoped that readers in
a better posit-ion to do so than the present author will take up
this task.

26
ANNEX l-: LIST Otr ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIOI'{S

The following acronyms and abbreviations appear in the text:

CAPA Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa

CITC Christian Industrial- Training Centre
CRT Centre for Research and Technology, Karen
DANIDA Danish I n t e r n a t i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t A g e n cy
DfT l)irecborate o f I n d u s t r i a l T r a i n i n g
DPM Direcl-orat,e of Personnel Management
DTTAT Directorate o f T e c h n i c a l Training and Applied Technology
GDP Gross l)omestic P r o d u c t
GTT Government Trade Test
I{IT Harambee Insbitute of Technology
ILO Internerl,ional L a b o u r Organisation
IT Institute of T e c h n o l o g Y
KCPE Kenya Certificate o f P rimary Education
KCSB Kenya Certificate o f S e c o n d a r y Education
KIE KenYa Institute o f E d u c a t i o n
KNUT Kenya National Union of Teachers
Kshs. Kenya Shillings
KTTC Kenya Technical Teachers College
MTTA'll Ministry of Technical Training and Applied Technology
NCCK National Christian Council o f K e n y a
NGO Non-Government Organization
NIVTC National Industr.ial vocational Training centre
NP Natiorral PolYtechnic
NYS NaLional Youth Service
SDSR skill Development for self Reliance Project
TSC Teacherst Service Commission
TTI Technical Training Institute
ULFS Urban Labour Force SurveY
UNfCEF United Nations Children's Fund
UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
UNDP United Nat ions Development Programme
VADA Voluntary Agencies Development Assistance
WfTED Women in Technical Education Programme
YP Youth PolYtechnic

27
ANNEX 2z TABLBS

TabIe Enrollments.in the Education and Training Systems 1980-

1 9 89

Type of Institution 19 8 0 ('ooo) 19 8 9

Primary Schools 3,927.00 5,389.00

Secondary Schools 399.00 6 4 1. 0 0

Universities 8.40 23.40

Primary Teacher Training 6.90 15.50

Secondary Teacher Training 2.50 4.50

Youth Polytechnics 19.50 40.00

Technical Training Institutes 8.60 8.00

Institutes of Technology 0.26 4.60

NIVTCS 0.60 1.00

National- Polytechnics 3.00 5.70

National Youth Service 3.00 3.00

source: Republic of Kenya 1-991a

2B
Table 2: Type of Employment by Type of Training

(for Respondents in Employment onty)

Men % Women % Total %

Type of Training FS IS FS IS FS IS

By a friend or rela'tive 47 53 I 91 37 62

Apprenticeship 72 28 15 B5 70 30

Youth Polytechnic 67 33 BO 20 69 31

Institute of Technology 91" 4 L00 0 9t_ 4

National Polytechnic 95 2 93 I 9 4 3

National Youth Service 100 0 100 0 100 0

FS = Formal Sector employment

fS = Informal Sector enployment

source: ULFS 1986 (in Sebstad L991)

29
Table Costs of Education and Training per Student and
Governnent Share of Finance

Total government Government cost

and private cost as % of total
per student (Kshs. )

Primary Schools 600 2

Secondary Schools 2,100 44

Universities 72,5OO 62

Primary Teacher Training 13,000 B4

Secondary Teacher Training 38,700 96

Youth Polytechnics 4,300 42

Technical Training Institutes 8,000 57

Institutes of TechnologY 14,000 20

National Polytechnics 14,000 B5

source: RePublic of KenYa 1991a

30
 RBFEITBNCtrS

DANTDA ( 1990 ) ti eport of the Taita-Tave

Polytechnic Programi'ne, Danish International Development Agency,
Nairobi.

I L O , / S D S RP ' o j e c t ( 1991) s
and Dar es Salaan, draft report by the rl,o Skill Development for
SeIf Reliance Project, Nairobi, September 1991.
Ngare, D. Nyagah (1gg1a) he Ed
and Training Srrstem, working paper prepared for the ILOlMTTAT
mission, September 1991.

Ngare D. Nyagah (L99Lb) The capacity. the capabirity and Interest

ted fr tio af
Conv l v o ,l tow rvl for
working paper prepared f or the rlo/r.ltrar *i==iorr, Nairobi,
September 1991.

Republic of Kenya (1929) Development Plan 1g?g-1g83, Government

Printer, Nairobi.

Republic of Kenya ( 19BBa) Report of the presidential WorkinE

Part tio Man nd
Beyond ( 'Kamunge ReporLt ), Nairobi.

Republic of Kenya (19BBb) Sessional paper No.6 of lggg on

and fo Ne ond,
Nairobi, March.

Republic of Kenya (1e8e) , Government

Printer, Nairobi.

Republic of Kenya (1990) Emplgvment Policy overview: Discussion

Paper' Minisl-ry of planning and Nation.l o"r."r"pr".t, Nairobi.
Republic of Kenya (19g1a) oeveropnent and gn t in Kenya:
te Tr' tio he report
, of the
Presidential commiLtee on Employment ( tr.ra"gor. rt'), ttairobi,
January 1991.

Republic of Kenya (1991b) Economic survey 1g91, central Bureau of

Statistics, Ministry of Planning and National Development, Nairobi.
Republic of Kenva ( 1991c ) S"essional Paper No.2 of 1g91 on Smal_I
BnterpriSe and Jua Kali Devel orrmenf. .in Kenva , . NNaaii r- o
^ !b, ;i , e
S^e- +p t e^m
- r -b^ e
- r
1991.

Sebstad, Jennefer (1991) In*".'= troao"r"ra tr *"r"r, or.t"=t=

of th. 19BB Rr""l ,rd 1986 u"!.n L.bo" Fo""" s,r".."r=, d;;ft;;o"t
to the Long-Range P1-anning unit, Minist"v-oT-pt*Gg and National
Development, Nairobi.

VADA (1990) A h Paper on Women participation in T

Education in Kenva, report by Voluntary Agencies Development
Assistance to DANfDA, Nairobi, May 1990.

3t
Walsh, Martin (1991) Irrformal Sector TraininA in Kenrrar working
paper prepared for the ILO/MTTAT m i s s i o n , N a i r o b i , May 1991.

yambo, Mauri (1"991) .TraininA in Kenya: Current and Future Roles

of MTTAT, workilg p a l e r p r e p a r e d for t h e I L O , / M T T AT missionr May
1991.

this paper prepared for the rLO,/MTTAT by Martin walsh, october 1991

32