TSC releases guidelines for teaching new syllabus

Teachers Service Commission chairperson Lydia Nzomo (left) and Teachers Service Commission Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia address a press conference at their Nairobi offices on January 2, 2019. The TSC has issued guidelines for implementing the new curriculum. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mathematics and environment have five lessons each, hygiene and nutrition have two, while religious studies has three lessons.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has issued guidelines on implementing the new curriculum, whose rollout, from Pre-Primary 1 to Grade 3, started countrywide last week.

TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said each lesson should take 30 minutes a day with five lessons in pre-primary and seven lessons in lower primary.

According to Ms Macharia, in pre-primary, language, mathematics and environment activities have five lessons each per week.

For psychomotor and creativity activities, there are eight lessons, five for psychomotor and the remaining for creative activities.

Religious education activities and Pastoral Programme of Instruction (PPI) each have one lesson.

LESSONS

The total number of lessons in pre-primary are 25 per week.

In lower primary, literacy has five lessons a week while English and Kiswahili languages or sign language have three lessons a week.

Mathematics and environment have five lessons each, hygiene and nutrition have two, while religious studies has three lessons.

Movement and creative activities has eight lessons, three for creative activities and five for movement activities.

PPI has one lesson and the total number of lessons for all subjects a week is 35.

In special school education, communication, social skills and pre-literacy activities have five lessons, while daily living skills and religious activities, sensory integration, psychomotor and creative activities also have five lessons a week.

TIMETABLE

Pre-numeracy has two lessons and orientation and mobility skills has three lessons a week, making it 20 lessons per week.

In a circular to TSC county directors, Ms Macharia instructed them to ensure that they have copies of the competency-based curriculum (CBC) designs in each of the learning areas.

“All curriculum support officers are required to utilise this information to assist all the heads of primary schools to prepare timetables for this level and allocate teachers trained on CBC implementation to teach.”