Agency wants untrained tutors to plug shortage in northern Kenya

Pupils in a primary school in Mandera. An agency tasked with promoting education in nomadic areas in Northeastern Kenya has asked the government to hire 1,200 untrained teachers to plug shortage following tutor exodus. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (NACONEK) says the teachers are to plug shortages in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera.
  • NACONEK recommends lowering of minimum grade requirements for learners in teachers training colleges.
  • Data shows that over 2,000 non local teachers have left the region since 2015 and government efforts to replace them have been unsuccessful.

A government agency tasked with promotion of education in nomadic counties has proposed radical changes to address deteriorating education standards in North Eastern region and which includes recruitment of 1,200 curriculum assistants at Sh181million.

The National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya said the curriculum assistants will support current teachers in the counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera who are not enough due to fears of terror attacks to non-local.

“The government to allocate funds for employment of curriculum assistants who will be offered school based teacher training as agreed in 2015. The government to continuously recruit and deploy local teachers graduating from teacher training colleges and universities who hail from North eastern Kenya,” said the agency’s chief executive officer Harun Yusuf.

GRADES

It is also recommending policy change in the entry level of learners into teaching training colleges from C+ to C for diploma teacher training colleges and C to D+ for primary teacher training colleges.

He added that the government should also consider recruiting retired teachers and those who left service regardless of their place of origin and are below 65 years of age.

“The government to deploy all primary school teachers with the required teaching subject combination to secondary school and have them upgraded. In order to attract and retain teachers in the frontier counties development council the government should introduce risk allowance,” said Mr Yusuf during a two-day forum on education in the North Eastern region.

Mr Yusuf added that in order to curb the frequent exodus of teachers from the region, the current advertised positions of teachers be recruited on a three-year contract basis.

“The Ministry of Education should improve the status of boarding primary schools in the three counties by rehabilitating the infrastructure and reviewing the capitation per child upwards,” he said.

During the meeting that brought together professionals from the three counties, it was resolved that  Ministry of Education make a deliberate effort through a Kenya gazette notice to operationalise the Kenya National Qualification Framework regulations for mobility and progression of learners within education, training and career paths.

SHORTAGE

Data shows that over 2,000 non local teachers have left the region since 2015 and government efforts to replace them have been unsuccessful since the replacements are short lived.

There is shortfall of 4,727 teachers both for primary and secondary schools. Primary schools need 3,311 teachers while secondary schools need 1,416.

Lack of enough teachers is now being blamed on poor results in national examinations. Last year, no student scored an A in KCSE, and only four scored A- , 19 B+ and 53 B.

The data shows that 17,377 students sat for KCSE In the years 2016 and 2017 in which 706 obtained grade C+ and above, 744 had C (plain), 1558 C- (minus) and 14,369 obtained D+ and below.