Teacher Training College (TTC) students have not been getting HELB funding as they are not considered government-sponsored students.

Section 56 of the Universities Act mandates the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) to ‘co-ordinate the placement of the government-sponsored students to universities and colleges.

This means that all students placed in colleges through KUCCPS qualify for State funding.

However this is changing as preparations to place the first cohort of diploma teacher trainees into the country’s 32 public Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) are complete. The placement will be done through the KUCCPS.

KUCCPS Chief Executive Mercy Wahome said the placement agency had developed a watertight automated system for admission that will ensure all legible applicants, including those who will sit the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in March, are placed.

She was speaking at a two-day sensitisation meeting with college principals at Thogoto Teachers Training College.

This will be the first time KUCCPs will be placing students to TTCs following the Ministry of Education’s decision to transfer the mandate to the agency.

Dr Wahome spelt out the roadmap for the admissions activity for the second batch of students who will join the institution to undergo training under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

She said the crucial meeting – the first between KUCCPS and the Teachers Training Colleges (TTCs) – was a major step in the agency’s preparations for the selection of primary school teacher trainees.

“We wish to inform Kenyans that we are ready for the task,” she told participants at the forum.

‘‘Under the arrangement, all colleges will be required to upload their programmes and declare their capacities on the KUCCPS portal for students to apply so that as we move with the process,’’ Wahome said.

The next placement exercise will target secondary school leavers from the year 2000 to 2021.

Until last year, the Ministry of Education was responsible for recruiting students for admission to the public primary TTCs.

Ministry of Education Director General Elyas Abdi expressed confidence that KUCCPS would deliver on its task.

At the workshop, principals and their deans of curriculum were sensitised on the KUCCPs mandate, how to navigate the KUCCPS portals, validation of courses and placement processes.

They were also shown how to upload programmes and capacities on the KUCCPS database, and sensitised on application processing and inter-institutional transfers.

Besides the Ministry of Education, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and Kenya Institute Curriculum Development (KICD) were the other education stakeholders represented in the meeting.

During the last meet Basic Education Principal Secretary Dr Julius Jwan said the shift to KUCCPS is progressive and will enable successful students to benefit from HELB, just like the rest of learners placed by the agency to universities and middle-level colleges.

“The new policy means that Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates can now choose to be selected for Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) or Diploma in Early Childhood Development Teacher Education (DECTE) when applying for post-secondary education training programmes,” said Jwan.

Teacher Training College (TTC) students have not been getting HELB funding as they are not considered government-sponsored students.

Section 56 of the Universities Act mandates the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) to ‘co-ordinate the placement of the government-sponsored students to universities and colleges.

This means that all students placed in colleges through KUCCPS qualify for State funding.

However this is changing as preparations to place the first cohort of diploma teacher trainees into the country’s 32 public Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) are complete. The placement will be done through the KUCCPS.

KUCCPS Chief Executive Mercy Wahome said the placement agency had developed a watertight automated system for admission that will ensure all legible applicants, including those who will sit the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in March, are placed.

She was speaking at a two-day sensitisation meeting with college principals at Thogoto Teachers Training College.

This will be the first time KUCCPs will be placing students to TTCs following the Ministry of Education’s decision to transfer the mandate to the agency.

Dr Wahome spelt out the roadmap for the admissions activity for the second batch of students who will join the institution to undergo training under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

She said the crucial meeting – the first between KUCCPS and the Teachers Training Colleges (TTCs) – was a major step in the agency’s preparations for the selection of primary school teacher trainees.

“We wish to inform Kenyans that we are ready for the task,” she told participants at the forum.

‘‘Under the arrangement, all colleges will be required to upload their programmes and declare their capacities on the KUCCPS portal for students to apply so that as we move with the process,’’ Wahome said.

The next placement exercise will target secondary school leavers from the year 2000 to 2021.

Until last year, the Ministry of Education was responsible for recruiting students for admission to the public primary TTCs.

Ministry of Education Director General Elyas Abdi expressed confidence that KUCCPS would deliver on its task.

At the workshop, principals and their deans of curriculum were sensitised on the KUCCPs mandate, how to navigate the KUCCPS portals, validation of courses and placement processes.

They were also shown how to upload programmes and capacities on the KUCCPS database, and sensitised on application processing and inter-institutional transfers.

Besides the Ministry of Education, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and Kenya Institute Curriculum Development (KICD) were the other education stakeholders represented in the meeting.

During the last meet Basic Education Principal Secretary Dr Julius Jwan said the shift to KUCCPS is progressive and will enable successful students to benefit from HELB, just like the rest of learners placed by the agency to universities and middle-level colleges.

“The new policy means that Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates can now choose to be selected for Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) or Diploma in Early Childhood Development Teacher Education (DECTE) when applying for post-secondary education training programmes,” said Jwan.