Factors influencing urban refugee youth access to technical and vocational education and training programmes in Nairobi county, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing urban refugee youth access to Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following research objectives: to determine the extent to which admission requirements influenced urban youth refugees access to TVET programmes, to determine how refugee youth‟s attitude and personality influenced urban refugees access to TVET programmes, to determine the extent to which parental income influenced urban refugees access to TVET programmes and to examine the extent to which TVET implementing partners influenced urban refugee youth access to TVET programmes in Nairobi County, Kenyan. The study employed a survey research design. The study sample comprised of three refugee centers, three public Technical institutes, four refugee TVET implementing partners, 81 post-secondary youth, 56 TVET instructors, and four TVET implementing partners‟ coordinators. Data was collected using questionnaires and an interview guide. Pilot testing was carried out on 2 TVET implementing partner coordinators, 9 refugee youth and 7 tutors. Questionnaires were used to determine the validity, reliability. The scores from the questionnaires for the refugee youth were correlated using Pearson‟s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient yielding a reliability index of 0.756 refugee youth questionnaires and 0.7 for the tutors‟ questionnaires. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive analysis and presented using tables. Qualitative data was analyzed and categorized into themes and presented in pros form. Findings were: most of the refugee youth had academic certificates required to qualify TVET admission and English Language was a major barrier to the access. The youth had a positive attitude towards TVET programmes. Refugee parents/guardians were unable to raise TVET fees dues to unsustainable income generating activities. TVET implementing partners sponsored a limited number of youth per year (180), a figure that was not commensurable with the refugee population in Nairobi. Recommendations were that MoHEST need to structure a system of enrolling refugee youth in TVET and trucking graduates, waive fees and offer free foreign academic document translation for refugee youth to increase access to the TVET programmes. TVET Principals need to plan for English classes for non-English speaking refugees. The TVET implementing partners need to come up with a policy that supports completion of highest basic education level as the minimum TVET entry for urban refugee youth. Parents need to work closely with TVET implementing partners in raising fees and providing training materials. They also need to encourage the refugee youth to seek for refugee mandate in order to access TVET sponsorship by UNHCR. Finally, the refugee youth should be allowed to stay in Nairobi for study purpose and not business.