ECDE and Primary school teaching courses have now been merged into one common course that will be referred to as Diploma in Teacher Education (DTE).
The ECDE teaching course was initially referred to as Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education (DECTE) while primary school teaching course was referred to as Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE).
The ECDE and primary trainee teachers will now study one course, DTE, which will take three years and requirement will only be C (plain) in KCSE.
The changes will take effect this year when the Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) will have intake in September.
Upon graduation the teachers will be registered by Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to handle Nursery and Primary schools (PP1 and PP2 and Grades 1 to 6 classes).
The teachers can seek employment by the county government or even TSC after receiving their TSC numbers.
The changes are part of the reforms proposed by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER).
However the efforts must be made to ensure all stakeholders are adequately sensitised on these changes.
Graduates of this new programme will be expected to competently teach pre-primary one and two, and grades one to six.
The entry requirements remain a minimum of C (plain) in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.
Since early childhood education is the responsibility of county governments, the graduates of this new programme will have the option of either working under the county governments or the national government under the Teachers Service Commission.
According to the PWPER report, more reforms could be underway. The report observed that tutors have the responsibility of shaping teachers well-equipped with the requisite pedagogical knowledge and skills, however, there is no institution responsible for setting standards.
Hence the need for a national framework to provide standards. The report also noted that while micro-teaching allows teacher trainees to improve their teaching skills and gives them teaching experience, colleges continue to adopt varied structures and approaches, making the standardisation of practicum assessment difficult.
This calls for harmonisation. The proposed and on-going reforms in teacher education, if well implemented, will see colleges attract and develop effective teachers who will drive the changes envisaged in the new curriculum.
