A Student Attachment Information System

Mokua Cyrus

102880

Mugo Victor Mahugu

086372

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of Diploma of Business in

Information
Technology at Strathmore University

Strathmore Institute of Management and Technology

Strathmore University

Nairobi, Kenya

October 2020
 Declaration
We declare that to our knowledge this project has not been previously submitted by any student
within Strathmore University or any other University for the award of a Diploma. The project is
based on improves of other existing systems of the same kind.

Student 1

Sign…Cyrus Mokua…………………………

Date…October 30, 2020…………………………

Student 2

Sign…Victor Mugo……………………………

Date…October 30, 2020……………………………

Approval

The Information System Project proposal/ documentation of Cyrus Mokua and Victor Mahugu
Mugo was reviewed and approved (for examination) by:

Supervisor:

Sign: ………………………………

Date: ………………………………

Abstract
Attachments are important for students to get practical work experience and gain more
knowledge in the various fields of study. Attachment information systems have been created to

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help connect students with available attachment vacancies. These systems have proved useful in
allocation of attachments to students across the country. However, these systems also have
problems such as crowded markets, long and tedious information process, lack of connection
between universities and firms offering attachments and subscription fees. These problems
facing existing systems have discouraged many students from using attachment information
systems.

The solution therefore is to create a new web-based student attachment information system that
addresses the problems in existing attachment information systems. The student attachment
information system will be free of charge, the information process will be less tedious, and will
connect students in universities directly to available attachments. Development of the student
attachment information system will be done using the incremental methodology. Using the
incremental methodology, the student attachment information system will be broken down into
various tasks.

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 Table of Contents

Declaration......................................................................................................................................ii

Abstract..........................................................................................................................................iii

List of Figures.................................................................................................................................vi

List of Abbreviations.....................................................................................................................vii

Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................................................1

1.1 Background............................................................................................................................1
1.2 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................1
1.3 General Objective..................................................................................................................2
1.3.1 Specific Objectives.....................................................................................................................2
1.4 Justification............................................................................................................................2
1.5 Scope and Limitations............................................................................................................2
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................4

2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................4
2.2 Attachments in Kenya............................................................................................................4
2.3 Existing Attachment Systems................................................................................................5
2.3.1 NITA..........................................................................................................................................5
2.4 Gaps of Existing Systems......................................................................................................8
2.5 Conceptual framework...........................................................................................................8
Chapter 3: Methodology................................................................................................................10

3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................10
3.2 System Development Methodology.....................................................................................10
3.2.1 Project Planning........................................................................................................................11
3.2.2 Requirements............................................................................................................................11
3.2.3 Analysis and Design.................................................................................................................11
3.2.4 Implementation.........................................................................................................................11
3.2.5 Testing......................................................................................................................................12
3.2.6 Evaluation.................................................................................................................................12
3.3 Tools and Techniques to be used.........................................................................................12

v
References......................................................................................................................................14

Appendix........................................................................................................................................16

Appendix A: Gantt chart............................................................................................................16

vi
 List of Figures
Figure 2.1: Screenshot of NITA (The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), 2020).......6
Figure 2.2: Screenshot of LinkedIn System (LinkedIn Kenya, 2020).............................................7
Figure 2.3: Screenshot of Fuzu System (Jobs in Kenya - Latest Vacancies & Career Tips | Fuzu,
2020)................................................................................................................................................8
Figure 2.4: Conceptual Framework.................................................................................................9
Figure 3.1: Incremental Methodology (Aflafla1, 2014)................................................................10

vii
 List of Abbreviations
Abbreviation Explanation
s
CSS Cascading Style Sheet
CV Curriculum vitae
HTML Hypertext markup language
KNBS Kenya National Bureau of Statistics
NITA National Industrial Training Authority
PHP Hypertext Preprocessor

viii
 Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background
Attachment is a practical training experience that prepares trainees for the tasks expected to
performed on completion of training or studies. Attachments are important because students are
given practical experience, exposed to the demands and challenges of work place, students also
gain work ethics and students develop work-based skills. Attachments are usually for 3rd year
students and higher-level university/college students.

Attachment information systems have been created to help place students in workplaces so that
practical skills can acquired and proper work ethic. Different systems have thus been created to
ease the burden on students who for a long time have had to look for attachment opportunities.

A recent study carried out by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics revealed that there were 4.6
million unemployed people across the country, out of this number the highest proportion was
recorded in the age groups of 20-24 and 25-29 registering 22.8% and 21.7% unemployment rate
respectively(Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2020).

There are systems created that enable students to access attachment opportunities for example
Fuzu and LinkedIn. The student attachment information system will help connect students better
to available attachments in the students’ field of study. The system will also reduce the hurdles
of applying for an attachment online by reducing the number of requirements. Students will only
be required to fill in personal details, year of study, and the students’ field of study.

1.2 Problem Statement

The most common problems that student attachment information systems have lack of
connectivity between universities and firms with attachment vacancies and the charging of a
subscription fee to use the systems.

The major problem is that student attachment information systems are not connected to
universities. With regards to building capacity for students, there is still a significant gap or
information break between learning institutions and the industry. This has caused a lack of
communication between students and firms with available attachment vacancies. Efforts made by
universities lack tangible results and are deemed ineffective. This results in students either
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directly applying to the organization of the students’ choice or securing attachment through the
help of friends and/or relatives .As a result, many students miss available attachments due to
lack of awareness (Kiplagat et al., 2018).

Some student attachment information systems have high subscription fees. This has discouraged
many students from using available attachment information systems and instead opt for the
manual way.

1.3 General Objective

The aim of this project is to build a web-based system that connects students directly to available
attachment vacancies in the students’ field of study.

1.3.1 Specific Objectives

i. To review existing student attachment information systems
ii. To analyze challenges in existing student attachment information systems
iii. To design and develop the student attachment information system
iv. To test the student attachment information system

1.4 Justification
The student attachment information system will allow students to apply for attachments with
minimal requirements requested. Personal details, field of study and other details will be filled in
by students and then the resumes uploaded. The student attachment information system will not
have subscription fees.

The student attachment information system will also send the details of the student directly to the
firm offering the attachment and send a conformation to the student. The communication will
also be direct with the firm. The student attachment information system will also have an
administrator, who will be responsible for updating attachment vacancies and for maintaining the
system.

1.5 Scope and Limitations

The student attachment information system will connect students from universities with available
attachments. The student attachment information system will only work if the students upload
details and that all firms involved update on attachment vacancies. The student attachment

2
information system will cover only 4th year or higher-level University/Colleges students. Cover
will not be given anyone who has already graduated.

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 Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction
This chapter will look back at existing student attachment information systems. Challenges faced
by the different attachment information systems will be looked at. How the proposed student
attachment information system will resolve the issues in existing systems will be discussed.

2.2 Attachments in Kenya

Attachments are structured, credit bearing work experience in a professional work setting during
which the student acquires and applies knowledge and skills. Students usually have a faculty
supervisor, who addresses the needs of the student. Students are required to have a logbook for
daily activities.

At the end of the attachment, the student is required to write a final report. The faculty supervisor
also writes about the progress of the student during the attachment. The training supervisor also
reports through a visit or survey.

2.2.1 Challenges Faced

Existing attachment information systems have faced challenges in trying to place students in
available attachments. These include crowded markets, wrong placement of students in
attachments and lack of connectivity between the universities and firms with attachment
vacancies.

Some attachment information systems have an abundance of attachment vacancies for specific
courses and minimal to none for other courses. Students find no problem in pursue science and
business-oriented courses to get attachment than those pursuing humanity-oriented courses such
as counselling psychology, public administration, or political science.

Another challenge is that some student attachment information systems, place students in wrong
attachments. Experts say that students find a lot of difficulty in deciding which organizations
provide services in the students’ areas of study. Therefore, students do not know where to start
looking for industrial attachment. When this happens, students work in unrelated fields where
tasks performed are unrelated to what is studied in school(Aineah, 2019).

4
The other problem is that student attachment information systems are not connected to
universities. This has caused a lack of communication between students and firms with available
attachment vacancies. As a result, most students have missed available attachments.

2.3 Existing Attachment Systems

There are systems that have been created for attachment seekers. Included are NITA, Fuzu and
LinkedIn.

2.3.1 NITA
National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) is a state corporation established under the
Industrial Training (Amendment) Act of 2011. The Authority has five industrial training centers
spread across the country. The National Industrial Training authority (NITA) is a newly
established state corporation established under the Industrial Training (Amendment) Act of 2011.
National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) was mandated to promote the highest standards in
the quality and efficiency of Industrial Training in Kenya and ensure adequate supply of properly
trained labor at all levels in industry(Abdimajid, 2017).

National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) has been successful in helping students find
attachments, but has also faced challenges. These include stringent industry requirements, slow
and lagging system and crowded markets. The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA)
system requires applicants to provide several documents. Some users have complained that this
has made the process of applying for attachment long and tedious(Ngugi, 2018).

The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) system is also unreliable. Users have
complained that sometimes there is inaccessibility or sluggishness. This has encouraged many
users to look for other alternatives when applying for attachments.

The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) system provides more attachments
opportunities for courses with high number of students as compared to other courses. Education
students face fewer challenges getting an industrial attachment because there are many schools
where education students can teach. As a result, the National Industrial Training Authority
(NITA) system has more vacancies for education and less for other courses.

5
Figure 2.1: Screenshot of NITA (The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), 2020)

2.3.2: LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business and employment-oriented service that operates via systems and mobile
apps. Founded on December 28, 2002, and launched on May 5, 2003, LinkedIn is mainly used
for professional networking including employers posting jobs and attachment vacancies and job
and attachment seekers posting CVS(Subhani et al., 2012).

LinkedIn is a web-based system that works by posting a job or attachment directly on LinkedIn,
the system will present qualified job or attachment seekers with the posting. The name and
profile can be posted to the listing. Applicants can apply for the attachment directly through the
system, unclogging inboxes of emails (Zide et al., 2014).

However, LinkedIn has faced some issues of which the main one has been the fee charges with
users complaining about price. The system also has dormant profiles, whereby not all profiles
created are updated even after the user has moved on or gotten an attachment.

6
In addition, LinkedIn has poor communication between all users. This has led to the site being
unreliable. LinkedIn is mostly based on job seekers and not attachment seekers. This has proven
to be an inconvenience because the system will focus on jobseekers more and leave attachment
seekers. Rarely are updates made on attachments and profiles are left dormant for long
periods(Zide et al., 2014).

Figure 2.2: Screenshot of LinkedIn System (LinkedIn Kenya, 2020)

2.3.3: Fuzu

Fuzu Limited launched the Fuzu service in Kenya in 2015. Fuzu combines the strengths of the
world-renowned Finnish education and innovation systems with deep understanding of the needs
and aspirations of end-user in the African context. Fuzu aims to change the landscape of job and
attachment search into an ever-inspiring journey of self-discovery. Fuzu is a web-based
information with the main aim of linking job and attachment seekers to available job and
attachments(Ketamo & Passi-Rauste, 2019).

Fuzu is designed to carry the attachment seekers beyond disappointments by setting focus on the
future. The system requires the skills of user to be inserted which will then be used as
information to be matched with an attachment that requires the defined skill set and qualification.

However, Fuzu is mostly based on people who have already acquired the necessary requirements
of a job including internship experience. Lack a lot of information on attachments vacancies and

7
rare updates on any available vacancies are some of the challenges faced by the system. The
system puts most of the resources on job seekers, attachment seekers have found this system
useless when looking for attachments. Most students applying for attachments on this system
have gone for months without getting a reply.

Figure 2.3: Screenshot of Fuzu System (Jobs in Kenya - Latest Vacancies & Career Tips | Fuzu,
2020)
2.4 Gaps of Existing Systems
The existing attachment information systems lack choices and only focus on courses being
undertaken by a high number of students. This discourages students undertaking different
courses that are not common. Other attachment information systems have subscription fees.
Some have very high prices for users and therefore discourage students from using these sites.
Some of the systems are rarely updated and end up with dormant accounts. The dormant
accounts reduce the number of available attachment vacancies as the system is not up to date.

The student attachment system has only one function, which is to link students to available
attachments and enables the required experience to be acquired. The student attachment
information system will also be free for use and will only require connection to the internet.

8
2.5 Conceptual framework
The student attachment information system entities involved are; students, supervisor, and the
system administrator. An account created by the student, then logged into. A profile is created
and all the required fields filled. The firms’ supervisor in charge of attachments creates an
account and logs into the system.

The firms’ supervisor also uploads the available attachment vacancies and the academic
achievements that an applicant should have, the supervisor name is also posted. The student
uploads a CV to an attachment choice and waits for a reply. The supervisor in charge of the
attachment can view the applications, if an application has been accepted, the supervisor is able
to send an email with details of the attachment. The system administrator can make regular
updates on attachment vacancies and maintains the system.

Figure 2.4: Conceptual Framework

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 Chapter 3: Methodology

3.1 Introduction
This chapter highlights the methodology to be used in development of the student attachment
information system. The requirements of the student attachment information system: functional
and non-functional requirements are explained to elaborate how the student attachment
information system will be developed.

3.2 System Development Methodology

The student attachment information system will be developed using incremental methodology.
The incremental methodology provides a structured approach to develop application projects.
This will be implemented by dividing the project into modules, stages, steps, and tasks. This will
provide a suitable way of managing the project. The methodology will also ensure that the
development process is efficiently managed.(Sami, 2019)

Figure 3.5: Incremental Methodology (Aflafla1, 2014)

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3.2.1 Project Planning
The student attachment information system will be broken down into four project life cycles:
project initiation, project planning, project execution and project closure. Project initiation will
contain the main objective of the proposed system: connecting students to attachment vacancies.
The next phase, project planning will specify the tools to be used to develop the student
attachment information system; this will include Java, PHP, MySQL, and HTML. In project
execution, the student attachment application online system is developed using the tools
specified in project planning. The student attachment information system is then presented to the
supervisor for sign off.

3.2.2 Requirements
The student attachment information system will have three users: student, supervisor, and
administrator. All users will be able to sign up, log in and create a profile. In addition, the
supervisor will be able to upload vacancies and review applications. The student will be able to
upload a CV and apply for an attachment. The administrator will be able to update attachment
vacancies.

3.2.3 Analysis and Design

System analysis of the student attachment information system will identify how all users will
interact with the system. The breakdown of the student attachment information system into
different components will also be done here. System design will describe features and operations
of the student attachment information system in detail, including screen layout. All the modules
are briefly described as well as the functionality of these modules.

3.2.4 Implementation
Web applications like Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets
(CSS) will be used to develop the web application. Therefore, an internet connectivity will be
necessary when Google servers will host the website. Notepad++ will be used as the web
development platform. PHP will also be used for connectivity to MySQL database.

The student attachment application online system will use PHP language that will be embedded
into Html5, CSS to build the system.

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3.2.5 Testing
The student attachment information system will be tested using incremental testing, whereby
different aspects of student attachment information system will be tested separately before
assembling.

3.2.6 Evaluation
The student attachment application online system will be run for the first time and all users are
given the opportunity to interact with the system. Feedback is received from all users. All bugs
and errors detected are fixed. Afterwards the student attachment information system is deployed.

3.2.7 Deployment
The proposed Student Attachment Information System is given to the university to be used.

3.3 Tools and Techniques to be used

These are all tools that will be used in creation of the Student Attachment Information System.

3.3.1 HTML
This markup language dictates the layout of data on a webpage. HTML will be used to create the
webpages and user interfaces. The language will be used to create the front-end of the student
attachment application online system for users to be able to communicate. Access of accounts
will also be allowed by HTML.

3.3.2 PHP
This will connect the user interface for the updates on available attachments to be done, the
administrator can be able to update the database using this.

3.3.3 MySQL
This will be used to create the database for the Student Attachment Information System.

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3.4 Deliverables

This will include a working Student Attachment Information System and the documentation.

3.4.1 System

This will be a working student attachment information system with all functionalities working.

3.4.2 Documentation

This will explain how the student attachment information system works and the different roles of
all users.

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 References
Abdimajid, A. B. (2017). Factors Affecting Performance of Procurement Officers in Government

Parastatals in Kenya: A Case Study of the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA)-

Nairobi [PhD Thesis]. The Management University of Africa.

Aflafla1. (2014). Iterative Development Model. Iterative development model V2.jpg, User:

Westerhoff. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iterative_development_model.svg

Aineah, A. (2019, August 15). Challenges students face in search for industrial attachment. The

Standard. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/money-careers/article/2001338250/n-a

Jobs in Kenya—Latest Vacancies & Career Tips | Fuzu. (2020, October 29).

https://www.fuzu.com/

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2020). QUARTERLY LABOUR FORCE REPORT -

QUARTER 2 2020 (QUARTERLY LABOUR FORCE REPORT) [Quarterly Report].

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. https://www.knbs.or.ke/?wpdmpro=quarterly-

labour-force-report-quarter-2-2020

Ketamo, H., & Passi-Rauste, A. (2019). Labor market analysis and curriculum gap assessment

using big data in Kenya (Final Report No. 7192067; p. 34). Headai Ltd.

http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/202221578327923556/Labor-Market-Analysis-and-

Curriculum-Gap-Assessment-using-Big-Data-in-Kenya-FinalReport-Headai-10282019-

clean.pdf

Kiplagat, H., Wanjiku, J., & Karei, R. (2018). Navigating the Maze: Finding Placement for

Industrial Attachment | African Journal of Education, Science and Technology. African

Journal of Education, Science and Technology, 1(3), 106–110.

LinkedIn Kenya: Log In or Sign Up. (2020, October 29). LinkedIn. https://ke.linkedin.com/

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Ngugi, W. S. (2018). An Investigation of the Challenges Faced by Contractors as Levy

Contributors of National Industrial Training Authority (Nita) in the Process of Applying

for Training, and Seeking Reimbursements Thereafter [PhD Thesis]. UNIVERSITY OF

NAIROBI.

Sami, M. (2019, August 16). Software Development Life Cycle Models and Methodologies.

Medium. https://medium.com/@melsatar/software-development-life-cycle-models-and-

methodologies-297cfe616a3a

Subhani, M. I., Joseph, S., Osman, A., & Hasan, S. A. (2012). Contribution of LinkedIn on

Recruitment and Selection. South Asian Journal of Management Sciences (SAJMS), Iqra

University, 6(2), 23–34.

The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA). (2020, October 29).

https://www.nita.go.ke/#

Zide, J., Elman, B., & Shahani-Denning, C. (2014). LinkedIn and recruitment: How profiles

differ across occupations. Employee Relations, 36(5), 583–604.

https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-07-2013-0086

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 Appendix

Appendix A: Gantt chart

Project
proposal
Chapter 1,2,3

Gather system
requirements
System
Development
System analysis
Evaluation of
system
Implementation
Of system

Present the
system
Project
Documentation

17