July 16, 2013 - Nairobi, Kenya: IBM experts have recommended strategies for improving the viability of vocational-technical education in Kenya, as well as for making health services more effective.
The 12-person IBM team hailing from six countries that proposed the plans had spent the previous 30 days in Kenya meeting with the public, private and not for profit sectors as part of an IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) engagement. This initiative sends IBM's top talent to provide pro bono consulting services to non-governmental, local government and small business groups in the developing world on issues that intersect business, technology and society.
The blueprint for better education and job preparedness was presented to the Kenyan Ministry of Youth and Sports. It suggested ways for Youth Polytechnic centers to enhance their revenue and demand for their certifications. Enrollment is particularly poor in rural communities because of pregnancies, poverty and a transient lifestyle that disrupt studies.
IBM suggested that Youth Polytechnics should consider creating flexible programs of varying lengths that give trainees credit that can be shared between Kenya's different educational institutions. To facilitate lifelong learning and make it easier for students to obtain degrees, credits should be counted toward future programs and degrees when former students have more time and resources.
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