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Railway trainees in Kenya learn the nuts and bolts of operations

By Li Jing | China Daily Africa | Updated: 2016-12-16 08:07

Railway trainees in Kenya learn the nuts and bolts of operations

A Chinese teacher gives a lesson to Kenyan railway technicians under a cooperative training program. Photos by Li Jing / China Daily

 

The course is designed for prospective technicians on the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway project. They will ensure seamless operation and management of the $3.27 billion railway line upon its official launch, set for Aug 1, 2017.

At the first stage of training, from April to August this year, 102 students entered a three month program to complete basic, short-term courses on traffic and transportation management, telecommunications control engineering, and locomotive and rolling stock engineering. Now they are in internships with the railway.

Yuan Yuan, a locomotive lecturer chosen by Kunming Institute of Railway Technology, has been in Narobi for months. She says she has not yet had time to tour the capital city.

"It is common for us to spend weekends preparing for classes. The training is intensive for both teachers and students," she says.

The poor teaching facilities are the first things to overcome, she says.

"There are hardly any railway models at the institute, let alone railway videos and photos."

Railway trainees in Kenya learn the nuts and bolts of operationsA teacher for 28 years, she spent three months preparing course outlines before she embarked on the training trip.

She gets comfort from her Kenyan students.

"They are talented and creative," Yuan says. "They are much more active than Chinese students in classes. They like discussions and interactions and want to show themselves in group discussions, through which many problems can be solved in a timely manner. It might be partly due to their traditional British-style education background."

Dai says the most impressive thing is that students photographed and collected all the tracks they could find on campus and detailed repair plans, after a class on track maintenance.

"They are very passionate about their studies," Dai added.

Still, the training is challenging. Yuan says students commonly lag behind in calculations and spatial thinking, and British weights and measures also add problems.

Lydia Wangui Muriuki, 27, is one of three female students in her class of 23. The course was difficult at first for her, as she had been a data-entry clerk at a company's customer service center.

"The teachers always encourage us and come up to ask if we have anything we don't understand," she says. "Chinese teachers are aggressive in a good way. If you don't understand something, they are ready to help and ensure that everyone understands it."

Dai says adjustments were made to the course outlines and teaching plans to make the program practical and feasible.

"Discussions with CRBC taught us that practical skills are the most important," Dai says. "We cut some unnecessary theoretical courses and impractical courses to concentrate on practical knowledge that trainees will use in their future work with the railway."

Usually, in railway vocational collages in China, students have to study three years, taking more theoretical courses and acquiring a wider range of knowledge than the intensified training program in Kenya.

Muriuki says she expects the training will lead to a job with the railway.

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