A radical change is on the way as P1 Certificate courses are set to be phased out. In the new education curriculum the lowest qualification a teacher will be required to have is a diploma. Primary school teachers with P1 certificates will be required to undergo additional training to be in line with the new system.
Currently there are around 220,000 primary school teachers, most of them are certificate holders who are required to further their training to keep up with the 2-6-6-3 system that is being implemented gradually to replace the current 8-4-4 education system.
KICD Chief Executive Officer Jwan Julius who appeared before National Assembly Education Committe said the institution had made a proposal to raise training level of all primary school teachers to diploma.
“We are proposing that during teachers training, they get enough time for content and adequate time for practicals. And this needs more training,” said Jwan.
He said the training as it is now does not expose teachers enough for practical skills yet its a critical component under the competency based curriculum (CBC).
Knut through its Secretary General Wilson Sossion supported the move but demanded the government to hire all P1 teachers who have not been employed.
“We have about 70,000 teachers with P1 papers, trained but not yet employed. They must be hired by TSC first think before they think of phasing out certificates,” said Sossion.
TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia told MPs when she appeared in parliament last week that the commission requires sh 900 million for training teachers on the implementation of the new competency based curriculum.