Ministry of Education Scraps Standalone ECDE Diploma, Raise Teacher Training Entry in Major CBE Reforms

Ministry of Education Scraps Standalone ECDE Diploma, Raise Teacher Training Entry in Major CBE Reforms.

Reforms in the Teacher Education sector has taken a new shape with the abolishment of the standalone Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education (DECTE).

The Competency-Based Education (CBE) model reforms have brought together the early childhood and primary teacher training programmes into a single qualification

Ministry of Education says the new qualification will be known as Diploma in Teacher Education Pre-Primary and Primary (DTE PP and P). Those changes have altered entry requirements and programmes models in teacher education institutions in the entire country.

Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education (DECTE) has been merged with the Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) under the name Diploma in Teacher Education Pre-Primary and Primary (DTE PP and P). The merger will be included in the bigger reforms to match teacher preparation with Competency-Based Education framework.

Another report by the Ministry was the discontinuation of the Upgrade Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education (UDECTE). Thus, no more admissions, registrations and assessments to the DECTE or UDECTE programmes.

Education Principal Secretary Professor Julius Bitok did confirm the decision in an official circular to County Directors of Education and Sub-County Directors of Education.

Entry Requirements and Regulatory Directives.

Education Principal Secretary Professor Julius Bitok has instructed the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) not to admit any candidates to be assessed under the DECTE or UDECTE programmes.

ps Bitok stipulated that all Teacher Training Colleges will only offer the DTE PP and P programme on strict full-time basis as the school-based method of training is in suspension pending further notice.

Any registration or approval of colleges shall not be done to provide DECTE or UDECTE programmes. The directives come into force instantly and all the offices involved must enforce strict adherence to them, Professor Bitok said.

According to the new structure, entry requirement in any teacher education programme including pre-primary education is now Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) mean grade of C (plain). The same is obligatory with the DTE PP and P programme.

The cancellation of the DECTE and UDECTE has impacted on students who are already in the early childhood education programmes, especially those students who were in the past qualified at the level of KCSE grade of below C (plain).

Students who are undertaking early childhood education in universities and teacher training colleges have been left in a cross road as to where they will be heading at the new regulatory framework.

The reforms are based on suggestions by the education professionals, such as the vice chancellors, and principals of teacher training colleges, at a two-day stakeholders meeting that was in Mombasa three months before the circular was issued.

Kwale Teachers Training College Principal Ms Hellen Machuka announced that Teacher Training Colleges had expected the order after the admissions of September 2024 when the Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Diploma in Primary Teacher Education would be combined into a three-year Diploma in Teacher Education qualification in Pre-Primary One (PP1) to Grade Six.

Ms Machuka reaffirmed that certificate-level teachers of early childhood education could no longer be upgraded to the discontinued programmes and the final cohort is in practicum.

Stakeholder Positions

Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Deputy Secretary General Mr Hesbon Otieno was in support of the merger, saying that it would provide uniformity in qualification and formalize employment procedures of early years teachers by means of structured recruiting strategies employed on primary and secondary education.

According to former Education Principal Secretary Dr Julius Jwan, the reforms would yield a more flexible and programmatic teachers who would be able to teach at the pre-primary and primary levels.

Dr Julius Jwan observed that the fact that former students with KCSE below C (plain) were admitted to schools was limiting those who graduated to early childhood education that is no longer within the Competency-Based Education framework.

Nonetheless, the Principal Professor of the Koitaleel Samoei University College, Winston Akala, has been complaining about the quality connotations of the merger. According to Professor Akala, early childhood education needs specialised training in child psychology unlike primary education pedagogy.

Professor Akala also raised an issue of concern with the law, stating that pre-primary education is administered and financed by county governments whereas primary is administered by the national government which may pose an administrative and managerial burden.

The Kenya Teachers Colleges Principals Association (KTCPA) Chairperson Mr Wycliffe Nyongesa was complaining about the absorption of graduate of Teacher Training College.

According to Mr Nyongesa, there are about 8,000 teachers that have passed through Competency-Based Education but have not been absorbed by the state.

Mr Nyongesa encouraged the government to absorb the graduates because private schools are already harnessing their talents without the emergency taking place in the public sector.

Conclusion

The cancellation of the Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education and the reorganization of programmes in teacher education under the Diploma in Teacher Education Pre-Primary and Primary is an important regulatory change in the teacher education system in Kenya.

The reforms are effective as they are implemented, and they redefine the entry requirement, programme structure, and institutional approvals, and the continued implications are felt on the students, training institution, and employment mechanisms in the education sector.

Ministry of Education Scraps Standalone ECDE Diploma, Raise Teacher Training Entry in Major CBE Reforms.