Retooling of teachers in North Rift special schools hit a snag after it emerged that most schools offering prevocational and vocational levels are missing from the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) database of registered institutions.
The omission came to light after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) released its August retooling guidelines for senior schools and special schools with prevocational and vocational levels. The exercise is set for August 11 to 15.
It is said that Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet and Nandi counties are among the hardest hit, with most of their special schools omitted from the list of institutions allowed to present teachers for the upcoming training.
In Turkana, West Pokot, Nandi and Uasin Gishu, no prevocational or vocational schools were listed for retooling, despite the existence of such institutions in these counties. Elgeiyo Marakwet has only one institution on the list, Bugar Special School, while Trans Nzoia has three: Masaba Special Prevocational School, Masaba Special for the Intellectually Different, and Section Six Special School, all located in Kiminini Subcounty.
ALSO READ;
Meru Varsity launches ‘Conquering the Mountain’ charity run to support needy students
A Ministry of Education official, who requested anonymity, blamed the problem on MoE field officers, accusing them of laxity in ensuring schools are properly registered. The official noted that this failure is now undermining critical decisions such as teacher retooling.
The TSC plans to retool 500 senior school special needs teachers and 330 teachers from prevocational and vocational schools nationwide. However, the fate of unregistered schools in the affected counties remains uncertain as stakeholders await the ministry’s next move.
By Naboth Murunga
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
>>> Click here to read more informed opinions on the country’s education landscape
>>> Click here to stay ahead with the latest national news.
