CBC Training Program For TTC tutors and school principals Launched.
A program has been implemented to help teachers better implement the competency-based curriculum (CBC).
The five-year Foundations for Learning program aims to train tutors in teacher training colleges and school principals to better understand the new curriculum.
The Aga Khan Foundation and the Canadian government are funding the program, which is led by the Institute for Educational Development in East Africa and includes Tanzania and Uganda.
East Africa Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development Dean Dr. Jane Rarieya stated that CBC has faced several challenges, including teachers’ capacity to implement the curriculum.
She claims that the new curriculum is poorly understood and that teachers have not been adequately trained to implement it.
To be sure, the program seeks to respond to this call by preparing teachers at the pre-primary and primary levels to develop their pedagogical skills.
The goal, she says, is to have a teacher who is creative, innovative, and can come up with learning strategies that encourage students to think critically.
“We are trying to support teachers to better implement the curriculum within their classrooms and at the same time developing heads of schools to be leaders for learning because this is essential for the CBC,” said Dr. Rarieya during a stakeholder meeting at the Aga Khan University.
She stated that for the pilot program, they have chosen Shanzu Teachers College, where they will train tutors who will then be tasked with training teacher trainees.
According to the Dean, this is aimed at improving teachers’ capacity to teach in CBC settings by making them highly conversant with active learning approaches in classrooms, understanding the curriculum, interpreting, and implementing it.
Dr. Rarieya explained that one-time workshops will not produce the desired quality of teachers, insisting that it must be maintained by continuous training until it becomes a habit.
“We want to produce teachers who are not so reliant on textbooks. The aim of CBC is to develop learners who can think critically, solve problems, and are entrepreneurial once they are done with basic education,” she added.
She also stated that they have collaborated with the Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI) to develop a two-year diploma program aimed at school heads in order to support learning in schools and improve their understanding of gender inclusion and diversity issues in schools.
“Our mission is to support the educational development agenda of the governments we work with in the region. In the future, we hope we can get more funding to upscale the program across the country,” she said.
According to Mr. Wycliffe Wasike, KEMI’s Deputy Director in charge of management development, the partnership is aimed at developing transformative leaders who will be able to influence and produce the quality education required for learners.
To promote quality education in schools, Mr. Wasike said we need champion leaders adding that this is a program they seek to expand across the country.
Dr. Rarieya stated that an ongoing study is running concurrently with the program to identify best practices for developing champion teachers, what needs to be revised or improved, and how to scale some of the best practices for the benefit of all.
In the long run, she said the study will identify how some of the best practices can be sustained or scaled up to have the program right across Kenyan schools.
