ABSTRACT
Harambee (self-help) village polytechnics were established in the mid-1960s as a response to the high growth in the school leaving population at the primary level, and were intended to provide vocational training for self employment in the rural areas. The courses offered varied with the demands of each area. In 1974 a joint Evaluation Mission of the Government of Kenya and a Norwegian agency noted with satisfaction that village polytechnics offered 20 vocational courses and recommended expansion of village polytechnics round the country to mitigate rural unemployment and reduce migration into urban areas. Since that time village polytechnics have expanded greatly.
Harambee institutes of technology were established to cater for students leaving Kenyan secondary schools, and offered vocational courses at a higher level than those in village polytechnics.
The Ministry of Culture and Social Services undertakes the financial control and management of village polytechnics while the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology takes care of the harambee institutes of technology, contributing Ksh 15 million annually to supplement community resources.
By 1982 graduates from the village polytechnics and harambee institutes of technology were distributed as follows: 46.8 per cent in self-employment; 37.5 per cent in the commercial sector; and 15.5 per cent in recommended work groups. The programme has clearly succeeded in imparting technical skills to the rural population of Kenya and acted as a catalyst in the transformation of attitudes towards education. Education is no longer a passport to ‘white collar’ jobs and vocational training is becoming a route to self reliance.
