MAY 31 – Chuka Technical and Vocational College (TVC) is gearing up for a new era of growth with the government investing heavily in the institution by building new hostels and tarmacking of a 5 kilometer access road.
According to Irene Muriithi, the Deputy Principal Academics, the State Department of Housing is building a 1820 bed capacity twin hostel while the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) is tarmacking the Kaanwa- Chuka TVC road.
Citing the construction of the hostels which is being implemented through the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), Ms Muriithi said the trainees are elated by the project saying it guarantees them decent and affordable accommodation.
“We are so excited about it as Chuka TVC and we are happy and grateful to President Ruto for the initiative. We are happy that our trainees now will not have to go very far away to have their accommodation, it will be within the institution,” said Ms Muriithi.
“We normally have even National Youth Service (NYS) trainees who come here and we will not have now to seek for alternative hostels,” she said, adding: “We did not have hostels from the word go, but now we have hostels and we are so happy about this.”
Previously, trainees had to scramble for the few rental houses but Ms Muriithi maintains that the project provides a lasting solution to the accommodation crisis. She said that the project is creating job opportunities for locals since skilled and unskilled workers will be hired from the community.
“With the Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) our trainees will be able to do practicals on the ground so our trainees will be able to go there and see what is happening and actually practise,” she said.
“We have talked to the contractor and he allowed us to do that. Our trainees are free to go there and do their practicals and see what is happening and also participate. They say that they can even employ some of them so we are very excited,” she stated.
At the sametime,Mr Kimathi Bundi, Deputy Principal in Administration, Finance and Planning, said that the hostels project will go a long way in addressing the accommodation crisis that the institution has been facing since its inception more than 10 years ago.
“We sincerely appreciate President Dr. William Ruto together with his Deputy President Kithure Kindiki for this good initiative of the Affordable Housing Project,” he said. The project is being implemented and supervised by the State Department of Housing.
“This project will provide our trainees with good accommodation since it will be housing 910 males and 910 females, totalling to 1820,” he said, adding: “It is also giving employment to the community, the people surrounding the institution.”
“The trainees are so grateful because they have seen the way their accommodation has eased towards their line of academic trip and also to the community is happy because this place is opening up because we also have a project from Kenya Rural Roads Authority,” Bundi said.
Kaanwa trading center. He said that the contractor assured them that 200 locals will be hired, adding that the ongoing infrastructure development is going to open up the region citing the tarmacking of the road leading to the institution from Kaanwa.
