The Teachers Service Commission, TSC, has revised registration on academic requirements for people entering the teaching service.
The student teachers are panicking that they will not be registered and issued with a TSC number to practice teaching after completing their training.
One must have scored at least a B- in both Mathematics and English to study bachelor’s in education at the university according to the TSC’s new changes. Additionally, the student must have scored at least C+ in the two teaching subjects and at least C+ as the overall mean grade in KCSE.
According to the TSC’s previous requirements, candidates were only required to have scored a minimum of C+ as an overall mean grade in KCSE and a minimum C+ in the two teaching subjects to pursue an education degree.
TSC has also banned bridging courses which were previously used to fill gaps for those who did not meet the minimum requirements. Bridging courses will not be accepted to meet these requirements.
For students pursuing Diploma in Education (Secondary option) at least a D+ in Mathematics and C in English is mandatory. In addition, one must also have at least a C+ as the overall mean grade in KCSE.
These changes are a plan by the government to regulate the number of teachers churned out by colleges and universities.
Currently, the market is flooded with teachers and the government seems overwhelmed by the numbers. Around 400,000 teachers are yet to be employed by TSC. The government is planning to export the surplus teachers abroad.
Education CS Julius Ogamba has said there are plans to register Kenya as an English-speaking country to facilitate this move.
The government has for the last year exported 105,667 Kenyans. These are graduate teachers, nurses, and chefs sent to work in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Kuwait.
President Ruto in a State of the Nation address last month said there are talks to include Russia, Poland, and Jordan in the plan.
Some universities have previously defied TSC directives and created their parallel requirements that later put teachers in a problem as TSC refused to accept their certificates.
One of the core functions of the Commission is to review the standards of education and training of persons entering the teaching service. It is also the work of TSC to review the demand for and the supply of teachers and advise the government on the same.
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