This archive report was first published on 21 August 2019.
On August 21, 2019, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) announced that all early childhood education (ECDE) teachers would be required to undergo refresher courses before being employed by the government.
According to Ms. Jacqueline Onyango, a senior director in charge of curriculum and research services at KICD, ECDE teachers must undergo training on the new curriculum at their own expense.
Ms. Onyango made the announcement while speaking at the Kenya Teachers Colleges Principals Association (KTCPA) conference in Mombasa, stating that ECDE teachers can register for the training during the holidays but must pay for it.
More than 100,000 public primary school teachers have already undergone training on the new curriculum, which emphasizes the importance of teaching learners in their mother tongues.
However, KICD has expressed concern over the lack of teachers competent in critical subjects, including Music, Foreign languages (German, French, Arabic, Chinese, and all indigenous languages in Kenya), and Physical and Technical Education.
Ms. Onyango noted that the new syllabus requires learners in pre-primary (PP1, PP2, PP3) to be taught their mother tongues, but many teachers cannot teach in their native languages.
