By Obegi Malack
Teachers who are not employed are set to benefit from the government’s new Diploma in Teacher Education and Early Childhood Teacher Education programme increasing their chances of employment.
According to the Principal Secretary in the State Department for early Learning and Basic Education Dr. Julius Jwan, the programme, which starts in April 2023, basically targets teachers who are not yet employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), County government or private sector.
In an advert in one of the local dailies, the PS says the upgrading program majorly targets unemployed Certificate in Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) and Primary Teacher Education (PTE) teachers who will be absorbed in public Teacher Training Colleges.
‘For the ECDE teachers with certificate and who want to upgrade to Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education (DECTE), they are required to have a valid ECDE certificate which should not be provisional, from a recognized institution, with the course being fully residential lasting for 5 terms whereby 4 terms will be tuition with 1 term being for practicum, he says.
Dr. Jwan said adds those with P1 Certificates and who will be upgrading to Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) are required to have a valid PTE Certificate with the course taking a total of 1500 hours, lasting for 4 terms: 3 terms for tuition, 1 term for practicum lasting for 300 hours.
The course shall last for 1890 hours with 300 hours teaching practice.
Teachers can make the applications at the Sub-County Directors of Education offices countrywide as from July 28, 2022 to August 18, 2022.
The candidates have been advised to register in only one center and not to register twice to avoid disqualification.
Both courses shall fully be residential, with trainees being required to complete the required hours (duration) for Course Work and pass the stipulated assessment by Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) to be awarded the Diploma.
The shift in policy in teacher training between 2019 and 2020 saw the Ministry of Education order all TTCs both public and private be registered afresh to reflect their new status of training the new Diploma course in particular, Primary education.
The policy only saw about 41 TTCs being authorised to offer the new course, the Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE), a move that might have locked out some private colleges which were deemed not fit to offer DPTE.
