Kenyan Technical Students’ Views on the Role of Kiswahili in Technical Education

Abstract

In Kenya, Kiswahili is taught in almost all levels of education, both in public and private institutions, except technical institutes. Therefore, its role is not explicitly explored in these institutions. However, it plays uncategorized important roles by the sidelines of the technical education curriculum and therefore, its importance cannot be underrated. It is out of this realization that this study, embarks on establishing the views of students of technical institutes on the importance of Kiswahili language in technical education. The research adopted a descriptive survey design, sampling 148 students and 20 instructors from 5 technical institutions. The study used questionnaires and structured interview guides to collect data. The content analysis method was majorly used to analyze the data obtained. The findings revealed that Kiswahili plays a very important role by the sidelines of the technical education curriculum. Currently, Kiswahili is not the medium of instruction in technical institutes, however course instructors, use it to expound complex concepts, especially among the certificate students. Additionally, itis widely used in academic discussions when students are preparing for internal and external examinations. Also, counselors use it as a guidance and counseling tool, and it is the preferred language for service delivery in the field among other roles. This study also found out that Kiswahili is the language of communication among the students. Out of these important roles played by Kiswahili as revealed by the students, this study recommends that the Ministry of Higher Education Science and Technology (MOHEST), in collaboration with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) works on a strategy to introduce teaching of Kiswahili language as a subject to technical institutes’ students. By so doing, they will be supporting the academic and social roles that Kiswahili plays by the sidelines of the technical education curriculum. Finally, further research can be conducted on the comparison of attitudes of technical institutes’ students towards both Kiswahili and English in view of using Kiswahili as the medium of instruction among certificate students