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Elgeyo Marakwet, the first county to airlift students overseas for study mission

By October 13, 2021 No Comments

One of the greatest achievements of the County Government of Elgeyo Marakwet in youth empowerment is the airlift of 25 students to study Nursing in Finland.

Elgeyo Marakwet became the first County in Kenya to strike a deal with one of the top international Universities in Finland, in an agreement that saw the students get competitive rates on their tuition.

Consequently, the 25 Elgeyo Marakwet students undertaking Degree in Nursing Course in Finland are progressing well.

H.E Governor Alex Tolgos says his administration is impressed by the successful airlift that prepares the youth towards exploring job opportunities in the international market.

The Governor said this after returning from official visit to Finland where he led a County delegation to the City of Tampere, to explore further partnerships and investment opportunities following an existing working relations Memorandum of Understanding MOU signed in 2019 between City of Tampere and Elgeyo Marakwet County.

The Cooperation is based on Smart City Development, Education, Health, innovation, entrepreneurships and other areas to promote common prosperity and development.

Since the signing of the MOU, the County sent the 25 students to Tampere University of Applied Sciences. The Cohort left Kenya in December 2020 and the County Government intends to send another 50 students for Degree and Diploma programs in the same field.

The County government had advertised the program calling on potential applicants to apply, attracting hundreds of applications across the County.

Consequently, the 25 were selected after submitting their applications and subsequently undertaking entry examinations at Iten Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC).

Following the success of the Elgeyo Marakwet ‘Airlift’programme, other counties have followed suit including Uasin Gishu County which sent their first batch of students recently.

Governor Tolgos in his visit to Finland also held discussions with Tampere University of Applied Science and Tampere Adult Education Centre top leadership on how to further their collaborations.

The Governor’s delegation that included Health Chief Officer Mary Kipchumba, Elgeyo Marakwet/Tampere Programme Liasion Officers Raymond Omonei and Janet Jeruto, also got to interact with the University lecturers besides visiting the insitution’s learning centres and getting first hand information about the students’ learning experiences.

The County team was also hosted by the Deputy Mayor, Tampere City Aleksi Jantti.

The two sides discussed future prospects of investment. These include partnerships in entrepreneurship, exchange programs, smart city among other programs.

The team was also hosted by Sami Puttonen, Director Business Tampere. The team met several investors especially on matters of Finnish Education.

Finnish’s education system is the best in the world and the County is keen on learning their methodology with the intention of replicating the same on Early Childhood Education and Vocational Training.

The team managed to visit several sustainable industries including those on sustainable energy and water cleaning company.

H.E the Governor crowned his visit by meeting Elgeyo Marakwet’s first Nursing Cohort students who flew to Finland in 2020.  During this session, the students shared their experiences so far.

The Governor encouraged them and challenged them to work hard and live up to the County of Champions slogan of being trailblazers.

Tampere University of Applied Science and the County Government of Elgeyo Marakwet agreed to extend the partnership in other educational programs which includes research.

The County Government of Elgeyo Marakwet is pleased with the partnership and pledges to commit fully for prosperity of the Citizens of the County.