Commission for University Education (CUE) has issued new guidelines to all universities on how to align their Teacher Education Programmes (TEPs) with the Competency-Based Education (CBE) curriculum.
In a letter dated January 9, 2023, by CUE signed by the Commission Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Prof Mike Kuria, all university Vice Chancellors (VCs) and Principals of constituent colleges are to ensure the reviews are finished by March 2024.
In this regard, the Commission has developed and forwarded to all universities the guidelines which will help them to change their TEPs to ensure that emerging issues in teacher education are addressed.
“The Commission has developed Guidelines for Review of (TEPS) with a view of facilitating universities to align curricula … to the Basic Education Curriculum Framework (BECF). The development of these Guidelines has been done with adequate engagement of relevant stakeholders, followed by public participation and sensitization forums,” reads the letter.
The university bosses have been directed to ensure they undertake a needs assessment as they engage with relevant stakeholders in the curriculum review.
According to the ‘Guidelines for Review of Curriculum for University Teacher Education Programmes December 2023’, the higher learning institutions have been asked to provide a summary of all the facilities and equipment available to support their academic programmes and ensure the available facilities and equipment are up-to-date, relevant, adequate and accessible for the support of a given programme.
They have further been asked to ensure they provide adequate internet bandwidth to support the type of programmes on offer, ensure availability of a feasible rotational plan for facilities and equipment that are shared among several programmes, and ensure availability of Memoranda of Agreement for facilities and equipment sourced from other institutions for support of the programme.
They have also been asked to submit their reference materials for accreditation of the TEPs and provide a summary of the available reading materials for the support of the programme.
Consequently, the universities have been asked to provide core texts, other recommended reading materials, and journals that are varied in multimedia formats (print, electronic, and audio, among others) to promote equity and inclusivity for each course.
They have also been asked to provide an overview of staffing levels in terms of numbers by academic rank, and the relevant technical and support staff in direct support of the university programmes.
And in the case of Open-Distance Learning (ODeL), they have been instructed to illustrate how course-related learning activities are equated to instructional hours, with an academic organization of the programmes reflecting academic quarters, trimesters and semesters.
On the curriculum, the institutions have been asked to submit the title and philosophy of their programme, rationale, goals and expected learning outcomes, and modes of delivery.
Other expectations include the provision of academic regulations for the programme, which entail admission requirements for the proposed programme, regulations on Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CAT), course requirements, grading system, examination regulations, moderation of examinations, graduation requirements, classification of the Degree/non-Degree awards, and description of Thesis/Dissertation/Project.
The Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) recommended that schools and Faculties of Education in universities should develop comprehensive Faculty staff retooling programmes in preparation for Competency-Based Teacher Education (CBTE).
It further recommended that the current Education students (2023 onwards) should be adequately trained in CBE through 3 years of professional courses and 1 year of practicum.
By Roy Hezron
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