If there is one thing we know that the Deputy President is very passionate about, it must technical training.
He last year dismissed some courses offered by universities as of little use to the economy, championing for technical and vocational education training (TVET) colleges.
Speaking at the Kenya Technical Trainers College over the launch of a TVET Competency Based Educational and Training Framework, the DP blatantly brushed off courses such as history, geography, sociology and anthropology, saying they should not be given preference.
“I was a very good student of history myself, but while it is okay for historians to tell us how Vasco Da Gama came, went somewhere and discovered this, he died. We need the gentleman or the lady who will fix our sewerage system or electricity when something is wrong,” he said.
The DP, who has a doctorate degree in Plant Ecology, was once a cabinet member for the ministry of Higher Education, which came after his term in the Ministry of Agriculture.
In the same vein, the Deputy President on Thursday opened a new agricultural college in Kakamega. The second technical institution he has opened in the month of April after one in Nandi County.
Ruto opened the Sh200 million Bukura Agricultural College Education Complex of Kakamega, saying, “It is a component of modern infrastructure that we are laying to ensure quality learning, equip youth with contemporary skills that will benefit our economy.”
He on April 12 opened the Emsos Technical Training Institute (TTI) in Nandi County, remarking that, “Innovation and technology are drivers of growth, a sustainable future and require employable youth, who possess technical skills to further development.”
Be that as it may, the deputy president, other than politicking, seems to have a flair for the educational sector.