Kenya
Wildlife Service Training Institute - KWSTI
PREAMBLE
The Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute (KWSTI) is one
of the training units of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
based in Naivasha (a small lakeside touristic town surrounded
by a busy horticultural and fishing industry) about 80 Km
northwest of Nairobi. It was established in 1985 with the
support of the World Bank and was originally known as the
Naivasha Wildlife and Fisheries Training Institute, and operated
under the then Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.
It
was essentially an in-service training institution for the
Departments of Wildlife and Fisheries, respectively, both
of which fell under the same Ministry. The establishment of
the Institute came as one of the policy recommendations contained
in the Sessional Paper No.3 of 1975.
The
Institute started functioning in 1985, when it admitted the
first group of trainees who comprised newly appointed University
graduate Assistant Wardens and Fisheries Officers on Induction
course.
The
courses offered then ranged from short Refresher and ad hoc
tailor-made programmes, to two-year Certificate courses. In
1994, KWS took over the management of the Institute and later
renamed it KWSTI in 1996.
KWSTI
currently serves the nation as a medium-sized comprehensive
tertiary Institute dedicated to excellence in all its programs
and operations. It is a bio-diversity conservation and management
centre in which knowledge is sought as well as taught.
All
its sections recognise the importance of scholarship and service,
the intrinsic value of research, and the significance of a
primary commitment to quality instructions & operations.
Broadly,
the objectives of the Institute are to offer:
-
Basic,
specialized and refresher courses for KWS staff and its
partners;
-
Training
and conducting research in Natural Resource Management
in an effort to enhance conservation, management and sustainability
of Kenya’s wildlife resources & their habitats;
- Hospitality
services.
In
the recent times, the Institute has expanded tremendously
in its training profiles as exhibited by the large number
of trainees and the increasing staff.
Through
linkages with other tertiary institutions both locally and
internationally the institute has broadened the scope of its
Certificate, Diploma and other training courses. The expansion,
modernization and improvement of the facilities has enhanced
the Institute's capacity to collaborate in more field-based
training programmes and research as well as improve its hospitality
services. |
