Mandera to open first teachers' training college

A view of Mandera Teachers Training College. The college will open its doors in August. The county government initiated its construction after non-local teachers fled over insecurity. PHOTO |COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • The institution, which was constructed by the county government, has a capacity of 120 fulltime students.
  • The college principal Ibrahim Hassan said the first batch of 50 students will be enrolled under the school-based programme.
  • Mandera Governor Ali Roba said the county government will fully sponsor the first batch of students for the first one year.

Mandera’s first teachers training college will start admitting students in August this year.

The institution, which was constructed by the county government, has a capacity of 120 fulltime students.

The college principal Ibrahim Hassan said the first batch of 50 students will be enrolled under the school-based programme.

“We will start with enrolling untrained teachers who are working in various schools. The second group of students will be enrolled in September on full time basis. Our target for regular students is about 120,” said Mr Hassan.

Mandera Governor Ali Roba said the county government will fully sponsor the first batch of students for the first one year.

He said the establishment of the college was fast-tracked following the mass exodus of non-local teachers due to insecurity.

This is after several teachers were killed in a bus attack in 2014.

“Most of the non-local teachers deserted their workstations citing security concerns. As a result, educational operations in the county were paralysed. We felt there was need to have a teachers’ training college in Mandera County,” said Mr Roba.

The county government funded the construction of four classrooms, a learning resource centre, a dining hall, and two male and female hostels as well water supply.

Mr Roba said the teacher’s service commission is ready to provide tutors to the college.

TEACHER SHORTAGE
Early this year, Mandera Teachers Service Commission director Jimali Ahmed said the county had a shortage of 1,800 teachers.

Mr Ahmed said 850 teachers fled the county at the height of insecurity, after 28 of their colleagues on a Nairobi-bound bus that was hijacked by Al-Shabaab terrorists were killed.

“We have a serious shortage of teachers in many schools in Mandera despite having employed 671 after the exodus,” he said.

Since the exodus, only 70 vacancies were filled in secondary schools despite the TSC giving Mandera 200 slots.

The county government hired 910 Form Four leavers to teach in the county after the 2014 bus attack.

There are 42 public secondary schools and 210 public primary schools in Mandera.

The neighbouring Wajir county government has also given full scholarships to 110 P1 teachers to address shortage in primary schools.

Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi said the county intends to attract more locals into the teaching profession after most non-locals left the county last year.