Teacher training colleges to admit diploma students next year

The Government has reiterated that from next year all teacher trainees will be admitted to diploma programs, as the P1 certificate is being phased out.

Basic Education Principal Secretary, Dr Belio Kipsang said the diploma graduates will be leaving college ready to teach the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).

Dr Kipsang said the changes in teacher training is meant to graduate tutors who are better equipped to deliver on the new curriculum.

“The P1 teacher trainees admitted this year will be the last. We will be phasing out a system that has not only produced teachers for the country but for neighbouring countries as well,” he said.

Dr Kipsang spoke when he addressed experts designing the remaining stages of the CBC at the Kenya School of Government in Embu.

He revealed that 27 million textbooks have already supplied to all public primary schools in line with implementation of the new curriculum.

In addition, he said, they were banking on the 91,000 teachers who were trained during the last holidays for the successful rollout of CBC.

The new education system phases out the 8-4-4 system that has been in use since the 1980s.

The new curriculum is intended to graduate people with desired 21st-century skills.