Kangema residents celebrate as Michuki Technical gains national polytechnic status

FLORENCE KINYUA-KNA 

The residents of Kangema SubCounty in Murang’a are jubilant following the recent elevation of the Michuki Technical Training Institute to a national polytechnic.

Located in the heart of Murang’a County, residents say this move will not only transform the local education sector but also improve their socio-economic status.

The recent approval to upgrade Michuki Technical Training Institute, along with four others, to national polytechnics increases the total number of national polytechnics in the country from 23 to 28.

News of the upgrade spread through the lush green tea and coffee plantations like wildfire, drawing numerous residents to the institution to celebrate.

An octogenarian, John Mwangi Njoka, recalled how he has witnessed the institute’s growth since it started as a youth training center in 1956, providing quality technical, industrial, vocational, and entrepreneurship training.

“As a community, we laud the government’s decision to upgrade this institute to become a global leader in vocational training for both local students and beyond the boundaries,” he said.

He said through the institute, the economic stay and social status of the Kangema community has over the years received a major boost for simply playing host to the college population.

The elevation to national status is expected to increase student enrollment, which will ultimately pull more investors into the locality in a bid to construct extra houses for accommodation, Njoka added.

The octogenarian specifically thanked the Kangema MP Peter Kihungi for his passionate support towards education and relentless efforts to oversee the milestone.

“I urge more investors to leverage this upgrade, because even the upcoming ultra-modern Karugia market, which is just a few kilometres from the institute, will flourish economically and contribute to the country’s GDP growth," he said.

On his part, the MP noted that the elevation will expand the programs offered in the institute, enhance research capabilities, create employment and benefit all the vocational training institutes in the county.

“After over six decades of offering vocational, technical and industrial training, the Michuki National Polytechnic will now also benefit other institutions around the county as they will share the facilities at the mega institute, which will also offer the courses that the latter do not have,” he noted.

Kihungi further pledged to support the institution as acquiring a national status will require significant investments in infrastructure and faculty development to meet the evolving skills demands.

The institute Chief principal Ann Mbogo, on her part, noted that the facility that has more than 5,300 trainees, will henceforth be a qualification awarding institution that will address skills gaps in the community and the needs therein and develop curriculums that will address them.

“We are excited by this elevation, and we pledge to work with the community to give lifelong learning to those that have skills through informal learning, but do not have the required certificates.

“We will assess them and retrain if need be and also certify them so that they can go and participate in building of the economy locally and globally,” she added.

Mbogo noted that the polytechnic will be the center of a cluster model and will have a new mandate in the TVET sector.