The government, in partnership with World Bank is set to strengthen the capacity of 35 Public Primary Teacher Training Colleges (PTTCs) to provide initial training for prospective primary school teachers.
The capacity building initiative, code named the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning Program (KPEELP) aims to address the inequities in learning outcomes in schools.
The National Coordinator of the KPEELP, Martha Ekirapa noted that the programme is going to have a far reaching impact on basic education institutions.
“A teacher is so critical in the education sector and instead of spending millions at the in-service courses it is important to invest right at the in-service level so that that our teacher graduates who graduate from this colleges are able come with the necessary come with the necessary skills and competence to be able to implement the Competence based curriculum (CBC),” she said.
Ekirapa spoke on the sidelines of the Kenya KPEELP technical mission field visit at Thogoto Teachers Training College in Kiambu County to assess the status of the preparedness for the roll out.
Ekirapa said the main objective of KPEELP is to address inequities in school participation and learning outcomes by equalizing opportunities.
She said the government jointly with the World Bank seeks to address disparities through improving learning outcomes in target Counties, and retention of Girls in upper primary education and by strengthening systems capacity for implementing initiated reforms.
In addition, she said the government will retool teacher’s educators, establish ICT enabled resource centres, provide core reference materials, and create structured linkages between PTTCs and neighbouring schools for purposes of practical aspects of training and strengthening accountability systems in PTTCs.
The project will also aim to strengthen the governance of some 542 primary schools in 10 Counties.
She said the schools recorded very low proficiency in Literacy and numeracy levels, hence the intervention.
“The improvement of the school’s governance and accountability systems will improve literacy and numeracy skills necessary for quality learning of children,” she said.
The National Coordinator of the Elimu Yetu Coalition, Joseph Wasikhongo said the mission aimed at establishing the readiness of schools to undertake the envisaged reform initiatives.
He said the mission had enabled the team to get additional voices and perspectives on education which are critical to the success of the reform initiatives.
The officials had earlier visited Mama Ngina Primary School in Nairobi.
Present included a Senior Education Specialist in the Education Global Practice at World Bank, Ruth Charo and officials from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).
