REMARKS BY PROF. LUCY IRUNGU –CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, KWS TRAINING INSTITUTE,
NAIVASHA DURING THE 16TH GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD ON JUNE 22ND, 2018
Salutations
- The Cabinet Secretary – Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife, Hon Najib Balala
- Principal Secretary – Dr. Margaret Mwakima
- The Chair and members of the KWS Board of Trustees Present
- The Director General – KWS KWSTI Academic Board members present
- The Principal – KWSTI
- Our Guests of the day, The Graduates
- Parents and guardians
- All invited Guests
- Ladies and Gentlemen
I feel humbled and greatly privileged to be part of this Graduation Ceremony. At the onset, I wish to say a big thank you to our Cabinet Secretary for finding time in his busy schedule to come and grace this important occasion.
Cabinet Secretary Sir,
My Board members and I are privileged to serve in this esteemed Institute and we would like to take this opportunity to record our sincere gratitude to KWS Board of Trustees and KWS Management for according us the opportunity to serve here in KWSTI.
More so we have had a keen listening ear from all of them, and now we are greatly encouraged by the keen interest you have shown in this Institute following your appointment by His Excellency the President to serve in the Ministry for Tourism & Wildlife, this was the first Institution you visited. We wish to say thank you for that.
Sir,
As a Board we are very optimistic that our Institute will grow not only in infrastructure but also have increased number of learner’s enrolment, and the quality of skills imparted. As the Principal has noted, we have had a steady growth in the number of trainees and revenue generated, but we have stagnated on infrastructure expansion. But with the Chair of KWS Trustees and the Director General recent meetings, and in addition to your political office and clout, we believe this will change pretty soon.
Notably, Sir, this Institution offers a curriculum which has been approved by the Ministry of Education in conjunction with Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development. It is a competency-based curriculum which is now due for review. More importantly the key strength of this institution is that the trainees do not just learn in classrooms, but they are taken round to almost every corner of this country for practical experience.
However, Sir, the means of transport the trainees use is really wanting. We could do with an additional 62 seater bus so as to enhance the quality of teaching and learning.
Following recent discussions with the Director General and the Principal I am also hopeful that KWSTI will not only have new infrastructure but will also be run like other institutions where the Institute management and Board is given some leeway to operate in a semi-autonomous manner so that we too can engage in Private –Public Partnerships for growth and development of the Institute to facilitate further growth.
To our beloved graduates,
As you stand on the brink of moving into life beyond Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute, change will be inevitable! It is inevitable that structures and processes and relationships will change in your day-today lives. It is inevitable that you will face new challenges and it is inevitable that things may seem a little different in the years ahead.
However, as we look back on your journey – a journey that started out with hesitant, tentative steps, we see just how far you young ladies and gentlemen have progressed. It has been an honor and a privilege being silently part of your journey and one which has been instilled with wonderful memories.
Sir,
I would also like to pay tribute to the wonderful lecturers, support staff, parents and guardians, the alumni and indeed the Academic Board – you have all guided, moulded and shaped the Ladies and Gentlemen sitting here today. Your role has been hugely instrumental in moulding our youth – our hope for the future of conservation. I wish to single out the lecturers and add that, a teacher is the only person on earth who teaches others to be better than them! A big thank you our lecturers. The Board is proud of you.
Cabinet Secretary Sir, in conclusion,
I wish to ask our graduates to embrace KWS values of working and say, I will work with passion, I will be professional, I will be innovative, and I will strive for quality.
Thank you and God bless and guide you, your parents and guardians.