Female Students Participation in Technical Vocational Education and Training in West Pokot County, Kenya

Abstract

Quality and affordable technical vocational education and training are one of the United Nations Sustainable Development agenda items for ensuring equal access to education for all women and men by the year 2030. This means that all women in the country need to have relevant skills for employment, job creation and entrepreneurship. Data from West Pokot County, Kenya department of technical and vocational education show the number of female students being admitted in vocational training centres for the past five years has remained low. Whereas the government of Kenya has viewed TVET as a critical element of attaining Sustainable Development Goal and Kenya’s Vision 2030 goals, the number of female students graduating from vocational training and being absorbed in the job market remains low. This study looks at enrolment trends for female students in vocational training centres and further examines factors discouraging female students from joining vocational training institutions (VTCs). To collect data, interviews and documentary evidence were used. The respondents for the study involve managers of selected VTCs in West Pokot County. Analysis of data was done through qualitative and quantitative methods. The study found out that the distribution of students in all public VTCs in West Pokot County favoured the male gender over female students. For women enrolled in various programmes, only 45.0% fully completed their programme. It was found out that courses offered in VTCs tend to attract more male students compared to female ones. The distribution of the teaching workforce in VTCs was found to be male-dominated and therefore, female students did not have role models to look up to. The research also found out that majority of girls who were unable to proceed to secondary and tertiary education were not aware of the opportunities available in VTCs in the county. The paper concludes that social-cultural factors, lack of role models and poverty were some of the barriers affecting female students’ participation in vocational education and training. The paper suggests more work needs to be done by all stakeholders to ensure that courses offered in VTCs are attractive to female students, remove social, cultural and physical barriers which prevent female students from enrolling and completing vocational training in West Pokot County, Kenya.