New syllabus to be offered in teacher colleges

A teacher takes pupils through an English lesson at Victonell Academy in Nakuru County. PHOTO | AYUB MUIYURO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The students will be trained in handling the new curriculum – 2-6-6-3 – that focuses on competency rather than knowledge acquisition.
  • The national pilot for the new curriculum was launched by the minister two weeks ago.
  • The new curriculum is being implemented in phases, starting with national piloting this year.

All students joining teacher training colleges this year will go through a new curriculum to prepare them to implement the proposed new syllabus, Acting Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has said.

In the new plan, courses offered at the colleges will take three years and lead to the award of a Diploma in Education. Currently, the courses run for two years and students are awarded certificates in teacher education.

COMPETENCY

Similarly, admission criteria will be raised from the current C- to grade C in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination.

The students will be trained in handling the new curriculum – 2-6-6-3 – that focuses on competency rather than knowledge acquisition.

It also proposes a new system of testing students, combining continuous assessment tests and end of term/year evaluation.

This is part of the plan of enhancing competency of teachers in preparation for the rollout of the new school curriculum.

The national pilot for the new curriculum was launched by the minister two weeks ago.

Dr Matiang’i said the examination council had been tasked with preparing a new format for testing learning that should incorporate continuous assessment and end of cycle tests.

“A lot of work is being done to train teachers to enable us roll out the new curriculum properly, including changing curriculum for teacher education and mounting in-service training for serving teachers,” said Dr Matiang’i.

TEXTBOOKS

The new curriculum is being implemented in phases, starting with national piloting this year, which includes training teachers handling pre-school and lower primary classes, developing textbooks and other teaching and learning materials, as well as refining the curriculum.

The Cabinet Secretary made remarks during a panel debate at a public forum at Strathmore Business School, which was organised in honour of the fallen Prof Calestous Juma, who died last month in the US and was buried early this month in Budalang’i, Busia County.

Other discussants in the panel were Dr Sara Ruto, chairperson of the Kenya Institute of Education (KICD) and Dr Vincent Ogutu, the deputy vice chancellor of Strathmore University in charge of Planning.

During the forum, Dr Matiang’i challenged universities to interrogate the proposed new curriculum and provide suggestions.

Dr Ruto said KICD will intensify public communication to sensitise parents, communities and teachers on the new curriculum.

Dr Ogutu said Strathmore of University was ready to work with the Education Ministry, other universities and partners to provide professional support to ensure proper implementation of the new curriculum.

The director of Strathmore Business School, Dr George Njenga, said the policy discussion forum was part of a series of initiatives by the school to promote intellectual discourse on national matters.