High hopes as KMTC makes debut in Narok County
The 21-year-old Nancy Cherono always dreamed of becoming a health worker.
And for the dream to be realized, Cherono, a resident of Emurua Dikirr Constituency was banking on scoring good grades in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KSCE).
When she completed her secondary education in 2019, that dream was shuttered following her parents’ inability to pay her college fee.
“I had looked at Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) website and indeed I qualified for a health course. However, my parents were unable to enroll me in one of the Campuses,” she narrates.
Being peasant farmers, my parents could only afford tuition fees.
“In this case, I had one option – to look for a nearby Campus where I would study and return home every evening. I searched around but there was none,” she says.
At the time the Constituency which has a population of about 100,000 people had only one technical training institution.
Despite the gloom, August 19, 2021, marked a turning point in Cherono’s quest for education.
With the commissioning of the Transmara satellite Campus by KMTC CEO Prof. Michael Kiptoo, Cherono has something to smile about.
“We are excited to be partnering with the people of Emurua Dikirr led by MP Hon. Johanna Ng’eno to bring this Campus here,” CEO Prof. Michael Kiptoo said when he officially commissioned the Campus.
He noted that Narok will become the 44th County to have a KMTC Campus once it opens its doors in September.
On his part, Hon. Ng’eno could not hide his joy at the prospect of being able to hand over the project signaling the beginning of impending admissions to the Campus.
“We have set aside funds to ensure completion of the Campus before the students arrive,” he said.
Adding: “We are committed to ensuring that students in this Campus have the requisite tools they need to actualize their dreams of becoming health professionals.”
Cherono’s future aspirations seem on track following the launch of the Campus.
“I had started to lose hope in continuing with my education. Today, I am a happy person,” she narrates while filling registration forms.
Cherono is one of 100 students set to join the Campus next month to pursue a Certificate in Community Health Assistants course.
She hopes that once she is done with her training, she will be able to not only support her parents and siblings but the community as well.
The latest ranking by Webometrics places KMTC as the best tertiary institution in Kenya and at position 31 alongside other best universities in the country.
According to Prof. Kiptoo by emerging position 31 alongside universities, demonstrates how our quality services have continued to improve over the years.
In attendance during the commissioning were area, MCA Hon. Stanley Lang’at, Assistant Commissioner Mr. Danson Waithaka, the Campus Project Management Committee members, and members of the Committee.
Accompanying the CEO, were Principals Benson Mbati (Bomet) and Abel Onchiri (Kapkatet), Principal Lecturer Nicholas Ruto, Deputy Corporate Communications Manager Hezron Ochiel, Chief Security Officer Samati Kemboi, and Deputy Chief Maintenance Officer Nasser Aura.
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