Trans Nzoia County to Absorb 800 ECDE Teachers on Permanent & Pensionable Terms
The governor of Trans Nzoia, George Natembeya, said that to improve the quality of education, there is a need to improve schools’ infrastructure and increase the number of students and teachers.
Natembeya stated that overcrowding in classrooms, an inadequate number of teachers, and the hurry to implement the new competency-based curriculum are some obstacles affecting the quality of education in the nation.
The governor spoke in his office on Tuesday when members of the presidential task force visited him on education matters.
Natembeya highlighted the County administration’s efforts to improve Early Childhood Education by absorbing approximately 800 ECDE teachers on permanent and pensionable terms, implementing a school feeding program, and hiring more ECDE instructors.
According to the governor, the county has a shortage of 1,200 ECDE teachers, and he disclosed that his government would first construct new classrooms before hiring them.
Prof. David Some, the task force chair, stated that during their trips to numerous schools in the county, crucial information was acquired, and the group’s primary concerns were identified.
He said that the lack of infrastructure development in most of the public schools they had visited meant that more classrooms were needed.
“For instance, we visited St. Joseph national school and we were astonished to find out that a class holds more than 70 students, which is too much for one teacher to handle” said Prof. Some.
Officials of the Presidential Working Group on Education Reforms have assured Kenyans that insight from current public participation forums will be incorporated into the final report compiled by the group.
Prof. David Some, in charge of a task team that convened a consultative session with education stakeholders and members of the public in Trans Nzoia County, provided the guarantee.
Kitale National Polytechnic hosted the two-day forum for public involvement.
The primary stakeholders included education officials, teachers, and parents.
Prior to the indoor public hearing, the team had traveled throughout the County to randomly selected educational institutions.
Prof. Some underlined that the primary purpose of the nationwide forums was to enable the government, under the Ministry of Education, to initiate and implement critical sector reforms.
Some stated that the objective of such public interactions with education stakeholders is to collect opinions that will aid the government in streamlining our education curriculum to benefit students.
Most people who spoke to the committee about the competency-based curriculum (CBC) said that certain parts of the system should be changed to improve it.
According to Mr. David Wanjala, chairman of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Trans Nzoia Branch, CBC should not be eliminated but rather enhanced.
This education system is appropriate for the 21st century. Wanjala commented that if this curriculum is well-resourced and judiciously administered, it will produce graduates who are employable in all official and informal development domains.
Wanjala underlined the importance of providing all teachers with CBC-based refresher courses and hiring more to address the problem of a teacher shortage in primary and secondary schools across the country.
The Knut official also emphasized the need to revise the curriculum’s substance, stating that the subject material requirements were too challenging for students, particularly the younger ones.
John Murumba, chairman of the Kenya Secondary Schools Head Association (KSSHA) Trans Nzoia Chapter, shared his sentiments.
Murumba urged the government to enhance per-student funding from the current Sh1, 200 to Sh2,000 to solve the problem of inadequate funding caused by the current economic climate.
The host was Area County Commissioner Mathias Rioba, accompanied by the County Director of Education, Luke Chebet, and his TSC counterpart, Jamaun Ahmed.
Mr. Paul Mungai (State Department of Vocational Colleges), Ms. Jane Mose (National Treasury), Dr. Reuben Nthamburi (TSC Headquarters), and Ms. Salome Eyangan were among the other members of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms task force (Special Needs Education).
The task group gathered public input from Trans Nzoia, Elgeyo Marakwet, Turkana, and West Pokot Counties.
