Teachers are currently being equipped with relevant knowledge in accordance with competency-based curriculum by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
According to trusted sources, TSC could soon bar teachers with certificate qualifications from working in public schools unless they have at least a Diploma.
Reuben Nthamburi, TSC Director of Quality Assurance, stated in June that this will allow teachers to begin implementing CBC once hired.
According to TSC findings, newly hired teachers who have not been educated on CBC find it difficult to teach the new curriculum cohort.
Teachers who take the upgrading are also likely to have a better chance of getting hired at TSC than those who do not.
Teachers in public schools who teach CBC classes currently hold a certificate and are retrained on a regular basis during their vacations to stay CBC compliant.
According to Nthamburi, the upgrade program training is not the same as the controversial Teacher Professional Development program that was recently implemented.
He clarified that the training differs from TPD in that it is designed to assist unemployed teachers in meeting CBC’s teaching criteria.
This will allow teachers to go to the level of Diploma in Primary Teacher Education, putting them on par with DPTE graduates.
‘We want to eliminate inequity.’ As teachers complete the upgrade program, they will be at the diploma level, bringing their compensation in line with that of diploma holders, according to Nthamburi.
In public teacher training institutions, the improvement program will cost between Sh65,000 and Sh68,000, while private colleges would charge between Sh79,000 and Sh84,000.
The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development was in charge of developing the upgrade program’s curriculum design.
Since the teachers have already learnt essential teaching pedagogies, the upgrade will simply focus on providing them with CBC skills.
The improvement will be available at Machakos TTC, Thogoto TTC in Kiambu, Shanzu TTC in Mombasa, Egoji TTC in Meru, Baringo TTC, and Migori TTC.
Collins Oyuu, secretary general of the Kenya National Union of Teachers, said on Friday that allowing P1 teachers to graduate to diploma will alleviate the college’s problem of being closed due to a shortage of students.
Oyuu also encouraged the government to partially fund the teacher upgrading program, noting that some of the teachers have been in the profession for a long time and have families, while others earn low incomes and cannot afford to upgrade.
“Because many are working in limited jobs and salaries in certain private and public schools, they would not be able to cover the training costs.”
“We want the government to provide them with some financial assistance and to enroll them in the Higher Education Loans Board program,” Oyuu said.
Primary teacher training was put on hold for nearly two years by the government in order to phase out P1 certificate courses in Teacher Training Colleges and allow for the development of a curriculum for the new diploma programme.
The initiative was made to replace P1 with diploma courses in order to ensure that teachers are properly equipped to meet the needs of the CBC.
Pre-Service Competency Based Teacher Education, according to the CBC taskforce, will provide the education sector with a valuable opportunity to train teachers on the CBC methodology.
*THOSE EXEMPTED FROM THE BAN*
All P1 teachers who have already upgraded to a Diploma plus have undertaken CBC based curriculum training are fully qualified for employment and have.been Exempted from. The Ban.
The commission made it clear that all p1 graduates must enroll for a diploma and be CBC compliant in order to be employed.
Therefore all those who have not yet enrolled for the upgrade program are highly encouraged to do so early enough if they have dreams if being employed by the commission.
