CBC Training for Teachers proposed to be Mandatory
CBC Training for Teachers proposed to be Mandatory. To meet the requirements of the new curriculum, primary and secondary school teachers must successfully complete a one-year required retraining program.
This is one of the recommendations in the draft report of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER).
The most recent recommendations made by task force members demand that teacher retraining be in line with the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
The team argues that educators will gain the abilities they need through retraining to operate the CBC, which has been in operation for seven years.
The task force suggests that the training be provided by the ministry of education, as opposed to the previous arrangement where the CBC trainings were administered by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
It should not take more than a year from the time the recommendations are accepted for the TSC to shift its training responsibilities to the ministry, according to task force sources.
In order to comply with curricular changes, the committee also recommends that the Ministry of Education establish policies requiring all teachers who got their degrees before 2023 to complete mandatory retraining.
The team advises taking action against a teacher who doesn’t finish the necessary retooling because they won’t be able to instruct. This basically means that those who choose not to undergo retraining run the danger of losing their jobs.
However, it is unclear from the draft report whether instructors would be expected to cover their own retraining expenses or if the government will cover the expenditures.
The government’s backing for this has been lobbied for by teachers unions, which has caused conflict.
According to sources in the task group, teacher ability and readiness issues were a major cause of CBC implementation challenges.
According to the members, the TSC on CBC trainings were criticized by a number of stakeholders for being “superficial, hurried, and conducted by unqualified trainers.”
CBC retraining for teachers should be made mandatory
The stakeholders also criticized TSC trainers for interpreting curriculum designs differently and for not providing full responses to questions.
As part of the strategy to improve education in Kenyan schools, only the Kenya Teachers Training College would be built; all other TTCs would be closed.
The study also recommends lowering the entry standard for teacher preparation programs in underserved areas, however this has not yet been decided.