Primary school teachers dash for Special Needs Education (SNE) courses in bid to get promoted

Primary school educators are increasingly enrolling in various Special Needs Education (SNE) courses at colleges.

Recent reports indicate that many P1 teachers are pursuing these courses, motivated by promotion opportunities following the TSC’s announcement of a critical staffing shortage in special schools and units.

Accredited institutions offer Diploma courses in several SNE areas, including Autism, Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties, Hearing Impairment, Deafblindness, Intellectual Disabilities, Gifted and Talented, Visual Impairment, Physical Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, and Inclusive Education.

The Commission stated that special institutions are experiencing significant understaffing and plans to assign teachers with SNE qualifications to these institutions to enhance learning.

However, only those enrolled in KNEC-approved SNE Diploma courses will be eligible for promotion.

To qualify for these courses, primary school teachers must hold a Primary Teacher Education (PTE) certificate, commonly referred to as a P1 certificate, and have at least two years of teaching experience.

In early January, the TSC initiated the third phase of teacher deployment to special schools and units, following the first phase, which began in September of the previous year, targeting a total of 3,600 teachers.

The TSC revealed that a number of special schools are critically understaffed and will utilize some of the 18,057 surplus teachers employed in primary schools to remedy the situation.

Macharia mentioned that the TSC plans to assign a total of 3,600 teachers from primary and secondary schools to special schools and units.

During an appearance before the Cohesion and Equal Opportunities Committee last year, Macharia stated that the deployment process would occur in phases due to funding limitations.

The first phase was carried out in September 2024, the second in January 2025, with the third phase scheduled for June this year.

The Commission aims to deploy teachers with Diplomas and Degrees in Special Needs Education.

“Given the budget constraints, the Commission has developed a staggered approach to deploy teachers to Special Needs schools to mitigate the shortage,” Macharia informed the Committee led by Hon Adan Haji.

The Committee was also informed that there was a deficiency of 5,362 teachers in Special Needs Schools across the country.

Macharia noted that the TSC had recruited and placed 1,763 teachers in schools during May 2024.

Primary school teachers with SNE Diplomas will be assigned to roles in primary school special schools and units based on their areas of specialization.

The details of the teachers have already been collected and forwarded to TSC Curriculum Support Officers (CSO) for deployment processing, including information such as Teacher Name, TSC Number, County, Sub County, Zone, Current School, Proposed Special School or Unit, Phone Number, and Area of SNE training (HI, VI, MH, Autism, CP, Deaf, blind).