Report on financial rot at TVETs wake-up call
By Editorial, August 4, 2025A report by the Auditor General has exposed the rot in technical and vocational education and training institutions (TVETs) that must be addressed by responsible authorities.
The colleges have not only been charging irregular fees but have also violate the law on ethnic balance in hiring.
Managers of TVETs have incurred expenditure without relevant supporting documents.
Auditors accuse managers of running down the institutions by even failing to set up structures and key offices to manage them.
The report revealed that some of the colleges have been charging fees that were not provided for in the approved structure.
Most of them have failed to put in place internal audits to monitor how money is being spent while others have flouted procurement laws.
The technical colleges in question include Siruti; Sirisia; Tharaka Nithi; West Mugirango; Ugenya; and Tigania East.
Other colleges have been flagged for having duplicate student receipt numbers while travel allowances are paid out without invitation letters.
The report says that a review of personnel records revealed that 34 (or 49 per cent) of 69 members of staff of one of the colleges belonged to one dominant ethnic community.
In some cases, institutions lack effective accounting systems, leading to manual recording of transactions, which resulted in inaccuracies and raised concerns about the competency of accounting practices, and lack of segregation of duties as the financial records revealed that transactions were neither prepared nor authorised by different officers.
They lack key departments such as procurement, finance and human resources.
This sorry state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue given the significance of these colleges. The TVET sector holds the future of thousands of young people who expect to learn practical life-skills.
In a country with high levels of youth unemployment, this should prick the conscience of policymakers.
Vocational training is considered an alternative to traditional academic routes, such as university, and is designed to prepare students for a specific career or occupation. These colleges offer a lifeline for many young Kenyans from low-income families who cannot afford university education.