Principals of Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) are meeting today to tackle in depth the issue of teaching practice for teacher trainees.
Through their umbrella Kenya Teachers Colleges Principals Association (KTCPA) the principals will address bottlenecks surrounding the practicum set to start after general elections.
The Principals who are meeting for two days starting today at Thogoto Teachers Training College will also look at issues raised by P1 Diploma upgrading students who are also part of the training.
The P1 Diploma upgraders have complained that the practicum is very expensive for them to manage and that a way should be looked at to cut down the cost.
Among the key issues the Principal of teacher training colleges will look at ahead of the September practicum are;
1. Trainers guide
2. Learning areas cluster
3. Work sharing between teacher trainees and the regular teachers/mentors
4. Roles of regular teacher/mentor
5. Number of trainees per school and per class
6. Types of schools for posting (Public/Private)
7. September practicum schedule/time plan
8. Number and spread of internal assessments per teacher trainee
9. Students welfare during practicum
10. Professional documents (schemes, lesson plans, assessment records etc)
The P1 Diploma upgraders are expected to undergo a full term practicum after general elections before they are awarded the coveted CBC upgrade certificate.
While it takes three years to train to be a teacher in the new CBC Diploma, it only takes a year for P1 teachers to upgrade their skills to the new curriculum. This is because the teachers are only studying subjects they did not do in their PTE education.
The trainee teachers have done a number of national assessments which will count in their final score.
A taskforce had recommended both P1 and ECDE teachers to undergo the mandatory training to be at par with the demand of the new curriculum. The training started in October last year.
The trainees will be issued with a Diploma certificate at the end of the training.
Registration Fees for DPTE Upgrade Programme Assessments
| Assessment Fee Payment Breakdown | Amount (Kes) |
| Basic Fee | 1,200 |
| Assessment Fee for all Subjects | 12,000 |
| Practicum Fee | 2,500 |
| Total Assessment Fees | 15,700 |
In the CBTEC the professional learning areas have been redone to include new information to align them to competency based curriculum.
The CBTEC expects a primary school teacher to be grounded in all the subjects offered in primary schools, therefore upgrading PTE teacher trainee will be exempted from the subjects they had specialised in and take only those they did not take in the certificate course.
Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) proposed upgrading Programme distributed as follows:
1. Professional Learning Areas – 414 hours
2. Content and Pedagogy – 786 hours
3. Practicum – 300 hours
Total – 1,500 hours
The upgrading programme shall take 4 terms for DPTE. This period will not be extended despite a suggestion by TTC Principals to extend it by six more months.
Graduates for the Upgrading Programme shall be expected to teach all the subjects offered in the area of training.
The next intake will be in September 2022 for P1 teachers who want to upgrade to the new Diploma.
The taskforce said blended learning and distance learning will be considered in due course.
CALENDAR FOR DIPLOMA UPGRADING STUDENTS
| Term | Opening | Closing | Duration |
| Term 1 | 4th October 2021 | 23rd December 2021 | 12 weeks |
| Holiday | 23rd December 2021 | 3rd January 2022 | 1 week |
| Term 2 | 3rd January 2022 | 8th April 2022 | 14 weeks |
| Holiday | 8th April 2022 | 29th April 2022 | 3 weeks |
| Term 3 | 3rd May 2022 | 5th August 2022 | 14 weeks |
| Holiday | 6th August 2022 | 25th September 2022 | 7 weeks |
| Term 4 | 26th September 2022 | 25th November 2022 | 9 week practicum |
For P1 teachers who want to upgrade to Diploma Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) they must meet the following requirements;
1. The applicant must possess a valid PTE Certificate
2. The applicant must be registered by the Teachers Service Commission.
3. The duration of the course shall be 1500 Hours.
4. The Course shall be fully residential.
5. The trainee shall take all courses specified in the upgrading programme of Diploma in Primary Teacher Education
6. The trainees shall undertake a Teaching Practicum of 300 Hours.
7. To be awarded the Diploma, the trainee must complete the required hours for Course Work and the stipulated assessment by the Kenya National Examination Council.
8. Applicants shall be required to produce evidence of adherence to positive morals and good behavior.