The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is set to start training of the newly recruited junior secondary school teachers.
According to TSC the training of the teachers was scheduled to start from January to April this year.
However TSC chief executive officer Nancy Macharia said the teachers who were already trained on the junior secondary school curriculum will be used to retool the newly hired teachers.
“We target to train 90,000 teachers between January and April,” Macharia said.
Director of Human Resource Management and Development at TSC Julius Olayo had earlier said retooling the teachers is to ensure they meet expected standards to effectively deliver their mandate.
Olayo said TSC had so far trained 229,000 primary school teachers and 60,000 secondary school teachers on the Competency-Based Curriculum.
“Additionally, all field officers and curriculum support officers have been trained on CBC to understand the curriculum and be able to give instructional support during the implementation of the curriculum,” Olayo said.
This came as the Commission announced that all the 30,550 newly employed teachers had reported to their respective junior secondary schools for the first term.
In the December 2022 advert for mass recruitment, the Commission announced 9,000 teaching posts for junior secondary on permanent and pensionable terms and 21,550 others on internship.
In the last two weeks, public schools have been hit by an acute shortage of teachers as thousands of students transitioned from primary school to junior secondary school.
TSC CEO Nancy Macharia admitted that there was a shortage of teachers in junior secondary but was quick to add that the government was looking into the issue.
She said that the commission was using its portal to collect applications from graduate teachers currently working in primary schools.
“We shall use the data collected to transfer the qualified teachers from primary schools to junior secondary schools once we are done with the mapping,” she said.
The application exercise for deployment of primary school teachers to junior secondary ran till 6th February 2023 midnight when it closed.
Macharia added that the recently recruited teachers had reported to the junior secondary terming the current shortage as ‘teething-challenges’ during the transition.
The CEO was addressing the press at Sawela Lodge in Naivasha after meeting members of the Senate committee on education last week.
“However, this training will be continuous and all teachers must be supported and equipped with the necessary skills to effectively deliver CBC.”
Some 1,287,597 Grade 6 students sat for their inaugural Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) last year.
The target group for the training will be all the teachers handling grades 7, 8 and 9 from both regular and SNE schools.
The Commission targets to train teachers on Languages, Pure Sciences, Applied Sciences, Mathematics, Humanities and Technical subjects.
The training of Grade 7 teachers will involve these subjects and areas offered in junior secondary school section.
i. Languages – English, Kiswahili, Foreign and Indigenous Languages and Kenya Sign Language.
ii. Pure Sciences -Integrated Science Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Health Education.
iii. Applied Sciences – Agriculture, Home science and computer studies
iv. Mathematics.
iv. Humanities – Social Studies (Citizenship, Geography, History) Religious Studies, (CRE, IRE, Hindu, HRE and PPI) and live skills.
v. Technical subjects and Creative Arts – Pre vocational and pre career Business studies, music, sports and physical education Home science.
LEARNING AREAS CLUSTERS FOR JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL
1. LANGUAGES
Teachers trained and qualified to teach languages (English/Kiswahili/Foreign/Indigenous) will be called upon teach the learning areas shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Learning Areas for Teachers Trained for Language Subjects (English/Kiswahili/Foreign/Indigenous)
| S/No: | Learning Areas | Remarks | No. of Lessons per Week |
| 1. | English | compulsory | 5 |
| 2. | Kiswahili/KSL (for learners who are deaf) | compulsory | 4 |
| 3. | Life Skills Education | compulsory | 1 |
| 4. | Physical Education and Sports | compulsory | 2 |
| 5. | Foreign Language/Indigenous | compulsory | 3 |
| 6. | Social studies (Citizenship, Geography & History) | compulsory | 3 |
| 7. | Virtual Arts/Performing Arts | compulsory | 3 |
| Total | 21 |
2. MATHEMATICS
Teachers trained and qualified to teach mathematics will be called upon teach the learning areas shown in Table 1 below.
Table 2: Learning Areas for Teachers Trained for Mathematics
| S/No: | Learning Areas | Remarks | No. of Lessons per Week |
| 1. | Mathematics | compulsory | 5 |
| 2. | Integrated Science | compulsory | 4 |
| 3. | Life Skills Education | compulsory | 1 |
| 4. | Physical Education and Sports | compulsory | 2 |
| 5. | Virtual Arts | compulsory | 3 |
| 6. | Business Studies/Computer Studies | compulsory | 3 |
| 7. | Pre-technical studies | compulsory | 5 |
| 8. | Total | 23 |
3. SCIENCE
Teachers trained and qualified to teach Science (Biology, Chemistry & Physics) will be called up to teach the learning areas shown in Table 1 below.
Table 3: Learning Areas for Teachers Trained for Science Subjects (Biology, Chemistry & Physics)
| S/No: | Learning Areas | Remarks | No. of Lessons per Week |
| 1. | Mathematics | compulsory | 5 |
| 2. | Integrated Science | compulsory | 4 |
| 3. | Health Education | compulsory | 2 |
| 4. | Life Skills Education | compulsory | 1 |
| 5. | Physical Education and Sports | compulsory | 2 |
| 6. | Pre-Technical Studies | compulsory | 5 |
| 7. | Business Studies/Agriculture/Home Science/Computer Studies | compulsory | 3 |
| Total | 22 |
4. TECHNICAL
Teachers trained and qualified to teach Technical will be called upon to teach the learning areas shown in Table 1 below.
Table 4: Learning Areas for Teachers Trained for Technical Subjects
| S/No: | Learning Areas | Remarks | No. of Lessons per Week |
| 1. | Mathematics | compulsory | 5 |
| 2. | Integrated Science | compulsory | 4 |
| 3. | Health Education | compulsory | 2 |
| 4. | Life Skills Education | compulsory | 1 |
| 5. | Physical Education and Sports | compulsory | 2 |
| 6. | Pre-Technical Studies | compulsory | 5 |
| 7. | Business Studies/Agriculture/Home Science/Computer Studies | compulsory | 3 |
| Total | 22 |
5. HUMANITIES
Teachers trained and qualified to teach Humanities will be called upon teach the learning areas shown in Table 1 below.
Table 5: Learning Areas for Teachers Trained for Humanities (History, Geography and Religious Studies)
| S/No: | Learning Areas | Remarks | No. of Lessons per Week |
| 1. | Social Studies (Citizenship, Geography & History) | compulsory | 3 |
| 2. | English/Kiswahili/KSL | compulsory | 5 |
| 3. | Religious Education (CRE/IRE/HRE) | compulsory | 2 |
| 4. | Health Education | compulsory | 2 |
| 5. | Life Skills Education | compulsory | 1 |
| 6. | Physical Education and Sports | compulsory | 2 |
| 7. | Indigenous Language | compulsory | 3 |
| 8. | Visual Arts/Performing Arts | compulsory | 3 |
| Total | 21 |