By PSCU
The mean grade for the entry into the National Youth Service (NYS) has been lowered with a House team being informed that the move is intended to accommodate more Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) students seeking to acquire technical skills.
While appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunities, NYS Director General James Kipsiele Tembur said the KCSE mean grade for youths seeking to join the organisation has been reduced from D plain to D- (minus).
“The Ministry has lowered the mean grade to enable youths from disadvantaged communities be able to have an opportunity to join NYS,” Tembur told the Aden Yusuf Haji-led Committee.
The DG noted that the new directive will be applied during the next recruitment.
Members of the Committee welcomed the move but asked the DG to ensure that slots for youths joining the NYS are shared equally across the country.
Nyeri Town MP, Duncan Mathenge noted that NYS has attracted a lot of interest after President Dr. William Ruto directed that Kenya Defense Forces personnel would be recruited from the organisation.
“The President’s directive has made joining NYS to be very emotive and that is why it is important to ensure transparency and equal distribution of slots during the recruitment exercise,” said Mathenge.
The committee commended the DG for being sensitive to people living with disability in their recruitment after it was noted that 60 staff were disabled.
“You have done well in inclusion of people living with disabilities than most of the State institutions that appear before this Committee to address the same,” said Liza Chelule, the Nakuru County MP, who chaired the session.
The committee was however disappointed that NYS did not have any person living with disabilities in its Council and urged the DG to ensure they are represented.
The committee was told that NYS had a total of 2,201 officers out of which 1,525 were male and 676 female.
“We have promoted 944 male and 510 female. Fourteen of the officers we promoted were disabled,” Tembur told the committee.
Kaspul MP Ong’ondo Were asked the DG to ensure that the maginalised communities got a giant share in recruitment of casual workers.
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