KNBS launches landmark national census of TVET institutions

By Ruth Ng’ang’a

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has officially launched the country’s first comprehensive national mapping and census of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, marking a major step toward evidence-based planning in Kenya’s skills development sector.

Speaking during the press briefing and flag-off ceremony held on Friday, May 15, at the Waterbuck Hotel in Nakuru City, KNBS Director General MacDonald George Obudho announced the conclusion of a week-long preparatory meeting and the commencement of nationwide fieldwork.

“Today, we are concluding the meeting we have been holding over the last week, which focused on conducting the census of TVET institutions that we have been planning for,” he said.

He noted that the exercise involved the development of data collection tools, piloting and comprehensive mapping of institutions across the country.

The piloting phase, conducted in Uasin Gishu and Nairobi counties, provided valuable insights that strengthened the data collection instruments.

Nationwide data collection exercise

Officials from KNBS, in partnership with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA), Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) and other stakeholders, will deploy 150 research assistants supervised by 41 team leaders across all 47 counties.

The census targets all TVET institutions, including medical training colleges, teacher training colleges and driving schools.

Enumerators will collect data on the location of institutions, student enrollment numbers, programmes offered, infrastructure, staffing levels and key challenges faced by the institutions.

Addressing data gaps in TVET sector

“This exercise means we are going to cover TVET institutions countrywide, addressing data gaps, as previous information on TVET institutions has been fragmented and outdated,” said Obudho.

This maiden national census aims to create a reliable and up-to-date baseline to guide policy formulation, funding decisions, infrastructure development and skills alignment with national priorities.

The data collected is expected to play a crucial role in supporting the government’s target of significantly increasing TVET enrollment in the coming years.

The initiative is part of broader efforts to combat youth unemployment and drive industrialization under Vision 2030 and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.