The findings by the Presidential Working Committee on Education show that Kenya has made great strides in teacher education and management, becoming a regional benchmark. There exist structures and guidelines for both pre-service and in-service teacher training, with the country-producing qualified teachers normally absorbed into the public and private learning institutions, while others find employment in other countries and other sectors of the economy.
However, there are gaps that need to be addressed in order to attract, develop and retain effective teachers for the transformation of society and achievement of Kenya Vision 2030 and SDG 4.
Teacher education and management roles are carried out mainly by the MoE and TSC, with no clear framework, conflict arises between the two institutions to the detriment of quality service delivery. It was observed that there is a lack of a coherent approach to teacher education and deployment, with many well-intended sector players for the same sector taking different and sometimes conflicting approaches.
The findings showed that institutional administrators do not have clear in-service education programmes. Further, the implementation of CBC faced challenges mainly emanating from inadequate teacher capacity and preparedness.
The PWPER observed that Kenya was not attracting the best of its student population to the teaching profession. The uneven distribution of teachers across the Country remains an issue of concern, with some regions experiencing acute shortages while other regions were overstaffed. Further, the TTCs facilities remain under-utilised, with some having more tutors than students.
The findings show the underutilisation of the TTCs as well as many internal challenges that include: inadequate facilities; posting trainers who are not specifically trained for these institutions; lack of access to loans through HELB; and lack of guidelines for sharing under-utilised facilities, including linkages with industry players.
Pre-Service Teacher Education (PSTE) lacks a framework; thus, TE is not standardised. The TTCs, Colleges offering Diploma in Education and Universities need TE standards to ensure that the quality of teachers meets the 21st Century demands and becomes globally competitive.
Universities globally play a critical role in shaping and informing Pre-service Teacher Education (TE). Globally, best practice reveals that responsive TE reforms precede Basic curriculum reform implementation to achieve seamless rollout.
Unfortunately, TE reforms in Kenyan Universities have often been reactive to Basic Education curriculum reforms leading to poor preparedness. Hence it is necessary for the Ministry of Education, the State Department of Basic Education and the State Department of University Education to work closely with Universities to rethink strategies that will support the continuous alignment of TE programmes to the emerging needs of basic education as critical players for the effective implementation of reforms.
The Commission for University Education should provide specific guidelines for TE programmes that clearly embed the principles of Competence-Based Teacher Education (CBTE).
There is a need for a long teaching practice period of two school terms. In addition, University schools of education should embrace mentorship as a part of the practicum process, and the mentoring teacher should be made the assessor of the trainee teacher during teaching practice.
This will require that the Universities, besides getting into partnerships with schools, will identify the mentoring teachers and train them. There will be no cost implication because the funds will be drawn from the Teaching Practice allowances previously paid to the lecturer.
Admission requirements for the B.Ed degree shall continue to be determined by the Universities’ Senates.
Regarding the welfare of teachers in the service, PWPER noted that there were serious concerns about the non-consultative transfers and appointment of institutional administrators between the TSC and MoE; the delocalisation policy; the disjointed in-service teacher education programmes; and the lack of a collaboration framework between partners offering teacher education and management services.
Final Recommendations on Teacher Education and Management
- The MoE to develop guidelines on how all teachers who graduated before 2023 undergo a mandatory one-year retooling and upgrading programme for compliance with the curriculum
- The minimum entry grades for Pre-service Teacher Education programmes be as follows:
- DECTE and DPTE – C (Plain) in KCSE or its equivalent in SS:
- DSTE – C (plain) in KCSE or its equivalent in SS with C (Plus) in teaching subjects,
- DSNTE – C (Plain) in KCSE or its equivalent in SS; and
- DTTE – C (Plain) in KCSE or its equivalent in SS with C+ in related STEM teaching
In each case, all applicants with disability will be admitted with a mean grade of C- (Minus) in all diploma programmes and all other conditions will apply. Further, A candidate with a recognised certificate in a technical subject area from a recognised college shall be considered for Diploma training in the same subject area.
- The Schools/Faculties of Education in Universities should develop comprehensive Faculty Staff retooling programmes in preparation for CBTE at the University Admission requirements for the B.Ed degree shall continue to be determined by the Universities’ Senates.
- Establish Kenya Teacher Training College (KeTTC) to administer all Pre-service teacher training colleges (TTCs) as campuses. Further, develop a framework to ensure optimal utilisation and sharing of
- MoE to establish a Kenya School of Teacher and Education Management (KeSTEM) as a corporate body to coordinate all In-service programmes for institutional leaders and education officers. Additionally, KeSTEM will offer CPD for teachers utilising facilities of Kenya Teacher Training Colleges (KeTTC).
- TSC to offer all education graduates an opportunity to undertake a mandatory one-year internship programme upon completion of Pre-service. The internship should be a structured and coordinated programme, which includes Teacher Induction, Mentorship and Coaching (TIMEC).
- TSC in consultation with MoE to harmonise teacher management guidelines on deployment, promotion of teachers and institutional administrators and teacher
- MoE, TSC and the COG to review the existing policies and guidelines on Pre- Primary teacher deployment and institutional administration. This should ensure collaborative management of teacher registration and recruitment, deployment and transfer, promotion and standardised remuneration, as well as performance monitoring and welfare of all Pre-Primary teachers. SRC to be consulted in the implementation of a collaborative framework on harmonised remuneration of Pre-Primary School
- Deployment and remuneration of teachers in Pre-Primary, SNE and hard-to-staff areas should be prioritised under the staff establishment and rationalisation
- Ensure the current students pursuing Bachelor of Education Programmes graduating from 2023 onwards are adequately trained in CBE. All Universities offering Teacher Education should ensure their programmes are aligned with CBTE and CBTA. The minimum duration for a Bachelor of Education degree in Teacher Education is four years (3 years for professional courses and 1 year for practicum).
