College students receive scholarships, free airtime from the Safaricom Foundation

The Safaricom foundation has handed over airtime worth KES 525,000 to Kibondeni College towards e-learning for 350 students for three months, with 100 students also set to receive scholarships in January 2021 as part of the foundation’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Programme.

The TVET programme, which kicked off online learning to enable students to continue studying even as learning institutions remain shut, is a partnership between the Safaricom Foundation, Zizi Afrique Foundation and ToolKit iSkills.

“Part of our commitment to TVET was to put in place sustainable infrastructure for youth training, and we have been presented an opportunity to use technology to enable students to continue with their training. Supporting the students with airtime ensures that they can access learning material suited to their areas of study through online platforms,” said Steve Chege, Trustee, Safaricom Foundation.

Safaricom Foundation’s TVET programme will see an ICT enabled Skills Center set up in Nairobi’s Waithaka Vocational Training Centre and close to 1,000 students receive TVET scholarships over the next two years across various institutions.

“Most of our students come from low income backgrounds, and the donation by the Safaricom Foundation will enable them to continue with their studies remotely. We are also part of the TVET programme that will see the Safaricom Foundation give scholarships to 100 of our students in Nairobi and Kilifi, and we look forward to future partnerships that will benefit our youth,” said Lynda Kasina, Principal, Kibondeni College.

An analysis by Higher Education Loans Board shows that employability is at 96% for people with Technical and Vocational Education and Training compared to 40% among those with a university degree. However, TVET participation remains low with enrolment standing at only 60%.