For CBC to be a success, seal staffing gaps

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has advertised 10,000 teaching jobs, meant to raise staffing levels in public schools, hence address the gaps. The National Treasury allocated Sh2.5 billion to TSC for the recruitment. It will be recalled that TSC announced a Sh114 billion five-year strategic plan, which includes the hiring of 95,000 teachers.

The government has turned its consciousness to Competency-Based Curriculum in a bid to realise the copious preferred desires of a bank of knowledgeable workforce with useful and relevant skills. TSC is a critical and fundamental player in this journey to revolutionise the sector, of course in liaison with many other stakeholders and education policymakers.

Apparently, it has prioritised staffing of schools for the next five years. This is a bold move that should be commended and supported for sustainable implementation of CBC. The recompense from the contemporary form of education, once wholly executed, will be substantial.

New curriculum

Finland, whose new curriculum was sketched in 2014-2015, put a lot of emphasis on the teacher. It emphasised teacher education. In 2016, a forum was formed to pinpoint critical measures for developing teacher education and supporting implementation of the development of its competency-based programme.

Similarly, the new competency development model for schools in Norway deeply committed to teacher participation as demonstrated by its high level of public expenditure and the dynamic policy activity targeting education quality.

TSC’s move to prioritise teacher recruitment and training is, therefore, absolutely well-intentioned and in the right direction. Of course, there other challenges in the implementation of CBC, which must take the centre stage. The government should be proactive to ensure that hindrances to CBC are identified and resolved before the impact is felt by our institutions.

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