The government plans to establish the Kenya National Open University, scheduled to open by September this year at Konza Technopolis. This virtual university is intended to improve access to affordable higher education.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo says the university’s mission is to make tertiary education more attainable and economical for students.
He spoke in Nairobi during the presentation of the One-Year Status Report of the ICT ministry. Owalo said plans were underway to operationalise the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Kenya-AIST) at Konza Technopolis.
The Kenya-AIST will play a crucial role in offering postgraduate programs with a focus on advanced science and technology.
Furthermore, the Ministry, in partnership with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, aims to equip these training institutes with 23,000 digital devices.
As part of this effort, 8,159 digital devices have already been supplied to 112 institutions. Notably, 77 Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions received 6,700 virtual desktops, four universities received 400 units, one community center, and twenty-one schools received 100 each.
Additionally, eight ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) and one county government received 100 and five virtual desktops, respectively, by the end of July.
Eliud Owalo also provided updates on the Ajira program, stating that 109,000 youth were directly linked to digital jobs.
These opportunities included positions with business process outsourcing companies located in various regions such as Ndhiwa, Mbeere, Kirinyaga, Central, Mombasa, and Nairobi. The Ministry has trained 336,000 youth under the Ajira Digital Program and established 74 sustainable Ajira digital clubs.
The Ministry’s focus is on fostering digital skills and creating job opportunities through programs like Ajira and Jitume.
The ultimate goal is to equip citizens with technical and vocational digital education, preparing them for digitally enabled jobs.
With these initiatives, the government seeks to pave the way for a more digitally inclusive and skilled workforce in Kenya.
