By Malachi Motano
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has set aside Sh1 billion to train teachers on the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) under the 2021/22 financial year.
According to TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia, more than 100,000 teachers had been trained since the beginning of the year in readiness for CBC implementation in Grade 5 in July.
“The commission will continue to train teachers in readiness for the phased CBC implementation. Particularly, we have this year trained more than 100,000. I wish to thank the National Treasury for allocating the Commission Sh1 billion for the CBC teacher training in the next financial year. So far, we have trained 156,000 teachers in primary schools on CBC and we hope that this transition will continue without any interruption,” Macharia noted.
The TSC Chief further stated that once relevant parties agree on the changes regarding the registration requirements to suit the CBC, a date of implementation will clearly be spelt out in a manner that will ensure a seamless transition from the 8-4-4 education system to the new Competence Based Curriculum.
“Such reforms will be implemented in a methodical, systematic and phased manner that will not disadvantage any past or present graduate of a valid education degree. When we have changes and reforms in the education sector, if these changes affect the lowest level, then we expect a ripple effect to the highest level,” she explained.
She added that teachers were ready and prepared to accommodate the task of handling more than one million learners in the spirit of government’s 100 percent transition initiative.
The TSC boss was speaking during the launch of Form One Selection at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha who assured that after a thorough form one selection process, all the candidates have been placed to various public secondary schools across the country.
“Of the 1,179,192 candidates that sat the 2020 KCPE examination, 1,171,265 have been placed in secondary schools. This is after excluding inmates, over age candidates, and candidates from refugee camps. We have, therefore, placed all candidates in secondary schools in keeping with our 100 percent transition policy from primary to secondary education,” noted Magoha.
“In the selection, we have strictly applied the principles of equity, fairness, merit, transparency, inclusiveness and affirmative action in placing candidates to each school category,” he said.
The CS further pointed out that all candidates who scored 400 and above marks will join national schools with boys leading at 18,848 followed closely by the girls at 17,406, and other students selected to join Special Needs Education, Extra County Schools, County Schools and Sub-County Schools.
“In the placement, the majority of candidates who scored 400 marks and above were placed in National or Extra County schools of their choice. The Special 21 Needs candidates were also placed in the regular schools of their preference, while others were placed in special schools based on their disability categories on merit and choice,” he added.
A total of 1,179,192 KCPE candidates sat their examinations in March this year under strict Covid-19 protocols. They are expected to report to secondary schools by August 2.
