Teachers ripe for Grade 7, says association
By Harrison.Kivisu, December 5, 2022Primary school head teachers have welcomed the government’s plan to employ 30,000 teachers by January.
Kenya Primary School Heads Association (Kepsha) chairperson Johnson Nzioka (pictured), said even as the Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC) races against time to train and employ teachers, instructions have the capacity for the roll out.
“We thank TSC for indicating that it will employ 30,000 teachers. That has been our prayer and we are happy, because this will go a long way to alleviate teachers’ shortage that the country has faced,” Nzioka said.
This comes even as Grade Six learners who completed their Kenya Primary schools Education Assessment (KPSEA) will transition to Junior Secondary School domiciled in existing primary schools.
To enhance the capacity, President William Ruto has announced that the government will recruit more teachers by January, and asked TSC to ensure retooling of teachers who are compliant with Competency-Based Cirruculum (CBC).
“We have the capacity to take care of our children from Grades Seven to 9 in our primary schools; sometimes we are surprised when we talk about capacity, because when we talk about teachers, they have upgraded themselves by furthering education. Right now we have more than 60 per cent of teachers in primary as graduates,” Nzioka added.
Speaking in Mombasa ahead of the annual Primary school head teacher’s conference, Nzioka noted that there was no cause for alarm in terms of teacher preparedness, since most of the teachers have advanced their studies in compliance with CBC.
“In terms of infrastructure, the children who are transiting to Grade Seven, they already have the rooms that have been vacated to those who have moved to Standard Eight, so we have the capacity,” Nzioka added.
The CBC task force appointed by the President has recommended that JSS learners be domiciled in existing primary schools. The report submitted to the President on Thursday further directed that the ministry adds additional classrooms and a laboratory.