Are you a P1 teacher hoping to be employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC)? Starting from 2024, the Primary Teacher Education (PTE) certificate alone will no longer suffice to secure a teaching license for primary schools in Kenya. The TSC, which oversees all teachers, recently announced that the PTE qualifications will no longer meet the requirements due to the introduction of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) for Grades 1 to 6 across all primary schools.
The TSC now requires teachers to have completed Competency Based Teacher Education (CBTE), an upgraded qualification from the PTE. Consequently, PTE teachers must upgrade to the current Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) to remain eligible for teaching positions. The lowest entry level into the teaching profession will now be a Diploma, meaning only teachers with DPTE qualifications will be considered for primary school teaching roles.
Teachers with DPTE qualifications will be placed in job group C1. The commission will also phase out job category B5, the current entry grade for primary school teachers, necessitating all aspiring teachers to hold a DPTE.
To ensure PTE teachers are not locked out of the teaching profession, the TSC will provide an upgrade program for transitioning to the CBC Diploma. But there are charges applied for this program:
- Basic Fee: Ksh 1,200
- Assessment Fee for all Subjects: Ksh 12,000
- Practicum Fee: Ksh 2,500
- Total Assessment Fees: Ksh 15,700
For P1 instructors aspiring to upgrade to the DPTE, the following steps must be taken:
- Valid PTE Certificate and Registration: Ensure you have a valid PTE Certificate and are registered with the Teachers Service Commission.
- Complete the Program: Enroll in and complete a 1500-hour program, which is intensive but essential.
- Full-Time Residential Course: Participate in the full-time residential course to demonstrate commitment.
- Coursework Completion: Successfully complete all courses included in the Diploma in Primary Teacher Education upgrading program.
- Teaching Practicum: Fulfill a 300-hour teaching practicum to gain practical experience.
By reaching these standards, you will then get the DPTE. To this detail, make sure that you meet the minimum coursework hours and the performance of KNEC.
The movement indicated above will be crucial as a teacher will be well prepared to discharge the CBC, and therefore, this will raise there a being a well-trained teacher to ensure a better quality of education in Kenya. Though it’s a dramatic shift, the final intentions are for the welfare of the teaching profession and to make them well-armed to handle modern educational requirements. So a transition to DPTE standards will enable the teachers to be relevant in the Kenyan Education system.