The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will train around 60,000 secondary school teachers in April this year on the new curriculum.
The teachers will be put in a crash programme aimed at equipping them to teach key subjects in the junior secondary school next year.
The teachers who will be targeted in the first phase of the programme will be those handling Science and Physical Education subjects under the first cohort of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) graduates of Grade 6 who will sit their national assessments later this year.
In 2023 Grade 6 learners will transition to Junior secondary schools. Junior secondary comprise of Grades 7, 8 and 9.
The 60,000 teachers to be trained will be those handling Biology/Chemistry, Physics/Mathematics, and Physical Education according to a circular released by TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia.
Biology and Chemistry teachers will be equipped with expertise on how to handle integrated and health science while those teaching Physics and Mathematics will be retooled to teach pre-technical and pre-vocational education.
Physical Education teachers are expected to teach Sports and Physical Education in secondary schools according to the circular.
In April, the retooling will be in form of five day face to face training while subsequent continuous learning on the new subject areas will shift online.
Venues for the programme across the country will be carefully selected to ensure teachers can easily access them.
TSC will receive an extra Sh15 billion for the 2022 – 2023 financial year, and has planned to use the funds to hire new teachers.
In a report, which was presented to the Committee on Education and Research of the National Assembly by the Parliamentary Budget Office, shows TSC has planned to use its increased allocation of Sh15 billion exclusively to employ 13,000 secondary school teachers and 9,000 interns to cope with exits and the expected increase in enrolment when junior secondary is rolled out in January 2023.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani had allocated an additional Sh14.9 billion to the TSC, whose budget has risen to Sh296.6 billion from Sh281.7 billion in the new financial year.
SUBJECTS OFFERED IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Takes 3 years i.e. Grade 7, 8 and 9
Core Subjects
English
Kiswahili or Kenyan Sign Language for learners who are deaf
Mathematics
Integrated Science
Health Education
Pre-Technical and Pre-Career Education
Social Studies
Religious Education – learners choose one of the following:
i) Christian Religious Education
ii) Islamic Religious Education
iii) Hindu Religious Education
Business Studies
Agriculture
Life Skills Education
Sports and Physical Education
Optional Subjects (Minimum 1, Maximum 2)
Visual Arts
Performing Arts
Home Science
Computer Science
Foreign Languages:
i) German
ii) French
iii) Mandarin
iv) Arabic
Indigenous Languages
Kenyan Sign Language
NB: ICT will be a delivery tool for all Subjects
Junior secondary school will expose learners to a broad based curriculum to enable them to explore their own abilities, personality and potential as a basis for choosing subjects according to career paths of interest at the senior school.
Learners in junior secondary will undergo a rigorous career guidance programme and will be exposed to the related subjects to enable them make informed choices as they transit to senior school.
The subjects to be taught in junior secondary are in two categories; core and optional.
At this level, a broad based curriculum is offered to enable the learner to explore their own interests and potentials.
Core subjects at this level will include; English, Kiswahili or Kenyan Sign Language for learners who are deaf, Mathematics, Intergrated Science, Health Education, Pre-Technical and Pre-Career Education, Social Studies, Religious Education, Business Studies, Agriculture, Life Skills Education, Sports and Physical Education.
Optional subjects will include; Visual Arts (Fine Art, Photography), Performing Arts (Music, Dance), Home Science, Computer Science, Foreign Languages, Kenyan Sign Language and Indigenous Languages.
At Grade 4, learners will be introduced to the optional subjects offered at upper primary so as to make informed choices at Grade 7.
