Siaya Institute of Technology (SIT) main gate /Photo courtesy/
Siaya Institute of Technology (SIT) Principal, Mr. Daniel Randa, on Wednesday, Nov. 27, refuted claims that the charter awarded to the institution has been transferred to Bondo.
In a phone conversation with The Nyanza Review, Randa dismissed the allegations as false and politically motivated propaganda.
“Siaya Institute of Technology has not lost its charter; whatever you see online is falsehood and political propaganda,” Randa stated.
The institution, which sits on more than 10 hectares of land in Siaya town, Alego Usonga Sub-County, was awarded a charter and elevated to a national polytechnic. The announcement was made by the director of TVET Nyanza, James Wamaye.
The charter was awarded during the centenary celebrations to mark 100 years of TVET existence in Kenya, held in June this year.
Reports had surfaced claiming that the charter had been transferred to Ratiya College in Bondo, sparking heated debates across social media platforms.
A number of social media users from Alego Usonga expressed outrage, questioning why the charter was allegedly transferred to Bondo Sub-County, which already has more post-secondary institutions, while Alego Usonga, home to Siaya town and the county headquarters, continues to struggle.
Calisto Owino, a native of Alego Usonga, took to his Facebook account to rally his constituents to speak out, stating that public pressure was the only way Siaya town could reclaim its glory.
Owino also blamed local leaders for their silence on the matter, emphasizing that the charter would have brought great transformation, not only to the institution but also to Alego Usonga and Siaya town, the county headquarters.
Currently, Bondo Sub-County is home to several higher education institutions, including a fully chartered university—The Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology—Kenya Medical Training College, a Teachers’ Training Institute, and a Teachers’ Training College.
Alego Usonga was on the verge of hosting a university, the proposed Barack Obama University, which failed to materialize due to what many attributed to a lack of political goodwill.
With the charter, Siaya Institute of Technology will become the first national polytechnic in Siaya County and the first national post-secondary institution in Alego Usonga, alongside the Kenya Medical Training College (Siaya campus), located less than 10 kilometers from SIT.
According to a policy framework outlined in Paper No. 1 of 2005, at least one national polytechnic must be established in each of Kenya’s 47 counties, along with a TVET institution in every constituency.
