The Ministry of Education has rolled out an ambitious program that will see Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions across the country plant at least a billion tree seedlings within the next five years.
Tagged ‘TVETs Greening Program’ the initiative will see all technical institutions plant tree seedlings to help contribute towards the country’s forest cover.
Speaking during the launch of the program at The Eldoret National Polytechnic on Friday, TVET Principal Secretary Dr Esther Thaara Muoria said they are targeting to plant at least 5 million trees during the rainy seasons this year.
“We are here because we want to take part in the greening initiative by the President,” said Dr Muoria.
“The Ministry is targeting 5 million trees this season and escalating to a billion in five years. We have decided to start now because we believe the earlier the better,” she added.
President William Ruto has set a target of the country planting at least 15 billion tree seedlings within the next 10 years.
The PS is now asking TVET Principals and other stakeholders to join the initiative to help enhance the country’s forest cover.
“We also encourage principals and other stakeholders to go into greening,” she added.
Biogas plant
As part of efforts to green TVETs in the country, the PS also presided over the launch of a biogas plant constructed at The Eldoret National Polytechnic.
The plant will now be used in cooking and lighting needs at the institution as it works towards phasing out the use of firewood and other energy sources considered not clean.
On his part, Principal Secretary of the State Department for Forestry Ephantus Kimani said they have already donated 2.9 tree seedlings that will be planted by TVETs.
“We will also donate a million tree seedlings to each of the TVET institutions in the country to support this initiative,” said PS Kimani.
Currently, Kenya has a forest cover of 7.4 per cent, 3.6 per cent short of the constitutionally accepted 10 per cent forest cover.
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