Primary Schools Head Teachers Association (KEPSHA) annual conference

The Primary Schools Head Teachers Association (KEPSHA) annual conference is set to start in Mombasa County, where 10,000 delegates are expected to attend.

Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha is expected to officially launch the four-day event at Sheikh Zayed Children Welfare Center, in Nyali Sub County.

The conference will be conducted in strict adherence to Covid-19 regulations, with only a few delegates allowed inside the main venue.

The rest of the delegates will follow the proceedings through live stream teleconference videos from tents erected outside the venue.

Addressing journalists, KEPSHA National Chairman, Johnson Nzioka, said that the conference’s theme has been aligned with the pandemic to allow head teachers to share their experiences and learn from eminent educationists lined up to address them.

“This year’s theme, The Head Teacher: ‘Leading in crisis, Reimagining the future’, is very exciting and befitting, given the unprecedented times that we are all going through because of the Covid-19 pandemic, he added.

Flanked by their National Vice Chairman, Fuad Ali, and National Secretary, Philip Mitei Nzioka, further revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic has also raised the need for public primary school head teachers to have additional skills on crisis management.

“Our programme this year is rich and delves into issues of school managers’ leadership in relation to the prevailing crisis,” he noted.

The chairman further added that there are head teachers who have been recruited in the past few years and therefore they require added skills set to effectively execute their duties.

He further reiterated that the Covid-19 pandemic challenges have constrained the education system in various new ways, hence the importance of revising how teachers should work.

The chosen theme also considers the role of teachers in building resilience and shaping the future of education and the teaching profession.

The programme will also bring together stakeholders to discuss the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) implementation.

“KEPSHA as a key stakeholder, is an interested party and would like to see the success of CBC. That’s why this year’s conference is critical, as it helps stakeholders to have a scorecard, look into the success and mitigate any gaps that the curriculum may have faced five years on,” he added.

The association held its last annual delegates conference in 2019 before the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic.

Early Learning and Basic Education PS, Dr Julius Jwan, and Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Chief Executive Officer, Dr Nancy Macharia, are among key speakers scheduled to address the head teachers.