KUNOPPET national chairman, Lawrence Otunga yesterday said it is time to reconsider this decision failure to which, both private and public colleges will be closed due to lack of trainees. He also said that the Government bodies should also learn to involve and consult KUNOPPET and other unions before making such sensitive decisions.

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“We warned them not to interfere with the entry grades for ECDE courses but they ignored us. What followed was a low and poor rate of enrolment in those institutions. Now they have revised it to C plain without cluster subjects,” said Otunga in a statement.

“With poor management of ECDE in most counties, why would a person who at the same time qualifies for Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) go for Diploma in ECDE?” he wondered. With the primary option, he said they are assured of being employed by Teachers Service Commission (TSC) unlike in counties where it has been a hard task to secure jobs.

“In most counties, unless you volunteered in a public school for decades or are well connected, or can part with good money, it will take a miracle for one to get employed,” he uttered. He said that in the next 10 or more years, there will be a serious shortage of teachers in schools.

ECDE teachers in Homa Bay have accused the county government of ignoring a court order that put a stop to their salaries cut.

The teachers went to Employment and Labor Relations Court to stop the county government from slashing their salaries after a recommendation from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

SRC wrote a letter to governors with recommendations that some ECDE teachers were being paid salaries that were above the required rate.

The teachers sued the county government and listed county public service board, Governor Gladys Wanga and county secretary Bernard Muok as the first, second, third and fourth respondents respectively.

Justice Christine Baari directed the county government to maintain paying the teachers their salaries as per their previous terms.

“An order is hereby issued that the status, entitlement, remuneration and emoluments of the petitioners as at December 30, 2022, be maintained until hearing and determination of the main petition,” the judge ruled.

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But on Sunday, the teachers who processed their March 2023 pay-slips discovered that their pay was cut. Some teachers who were supposed to get Sh21,000 found they were paid Sh19,000.

The teachers protested that salaries were deducted against the court order.

“It is very unfortunate that our salaries have continued to get deducted despite the court order. Homa Bay teachers are getting frustrated by our employer,” a teacher said.

Homa Bay executive for Education Martin Opere said they would address the issues.

Ouma said they are told some errors occurred when paying teachers.

“We wonder why it is teachers only who are affected by the error,” Ouma said.

Last month, the teachers through their union of the Kenya National Union of Pre Primary Education Teachers (Kunnopet) accused Homa Bay government of failing to address their grievances.

Union officials said their members are suffering because of salary deductions.

Homa Bay Kunoppet chairman Michael Odera and Secretary Bernard Ouma said their problems started when their employer declined to review their empowerment terms to permanent and pensionable.

“Homa Bay government is not ready to understand and respond to our issues. It is taking us back by refusing to implement new terms of employment,” Odera said.

According to the unionist, their employer promised to implement the changes after a meeting in January. But most tutors said they are still stuck in the old system.

“Pay slips still read we are employed on contract basis. We have given room for negotiation but the employer has been ignoring us,” he said.

He said teachers are demanding for their rights because they were rightfully employed.

Employees on permanent and pensionable terms enjoy job security as well as earn pension after leaving the job.

During a meeting with Governor Wanga in February, they resolved that salaries will be increased.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will consider other Diploma and Degree certificates held by primary school teachers for promotion through deployment to junior secondary schools (JSS).

These include teachers with Diploma and Degree in Special Need Education (SNE) and those in Education (primary option). The Commission however rejected those with Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE).

TSC will also consider primary school teachers who scored C plain in KCSE but upgraded to Degree and Diploma certificates. This latest revelation is a relief for many P1 teachers who were locked out in the recent deployment. TSC will advertise another round of deployment after posting the recent applicants.

After lobbying by Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and protests from PTE teachers who upgraded their certificates, TSC is now succumbing to pressure.

Knut had cautioned TSC against discriminating P1 teachers in the deployment exercise to Junior Secondary Schools.

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TSC has in the recent past insisted that only teachers who scored a C+ and above in the KCSE examination will handle the junior secondary students.

But KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu termed the proposal by TSC as discriminatory, warning that the declaration is a recipe for chaos.

While addressing the press in Kisumu, Oyuu stated that some of the P1 teachers have upgraded to Diploma courses and higher Diplomas and can teach grade 7. He added that some of the teachers have Degrees and shouldn’t be sidelined.

“Why do we want to use academic stratification to deny teachers who have worked hard and upgraded their skills through advanced learning, why?” he posed

Oyuu asked TSC to consider dropping the requirement to C plain, adding most teachers who went through Teachers Training Colleges can handle junior secondary.

Knut was in attendance when TSC Commissioners led by their CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia, appeared before lawmakers yesterday, Thursday.

Macharia on Tuesday revealed that the Commission plans to promote 36,829 teachers from next week where 10,833 will be primary school teachers who will be promoted to work in JSS.

However, Macharia who was also accompanied by TSC Chairperson Jamleck Muturi said so far, they have identified 7,282 teachers for deployment.

“TSC has through the verification of personal files; identified 7,282 primary school teachers with requisite qualifications to teach in secondary schools as eligible for deployment to junior Secondary Schools,” responded Ms Macharia.

The teachers targeted in this first round of deployment to junior secondary are those with Diploma or Degree in Education (Secondary option).

The application for deployment ended on 6th February 2023 and now TSC says 7,282 teachers have been verified for deployment which starts next week.

According to the commission, qualification for deployment to JSS include a Diploma in Education, Bachelor’s degree in Education, at least a C +plus mean grade in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KSCE) examination or its equivalent and at least C Plus in the two teaching subjects at KCSE or its equivalent.

The Ministry of Education has urged the Senate Committee on Education to ensure Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) teachers are well remunerated. Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said the teachers play a critical role at the preprimary and also need to be well facilitated. Kipsang said ECDE teachers have a major responsibility of preparing and shaping learners for their future education.

“As you undertake your oversight role, we are asking you to negotiate on behalf of the ECDE teachers of this country with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) so that they can be paid what they deserve,” said Kipsang. He said the work done by ECDE teachers cannot be compared to other levels of education because they are the first to interact and induct every child to the school life journey.

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The PS said the ongoing debate on pay cuts that affects the ECDE teachers is a concern that should be given special attention to ensure they get a better pay. Kipsang made his remarks while making a presentation on Kenya’s Education Architecture, legal and policy framework to the Fourth Senate Standing Committee on Education during a consultative induction retreat held in Naivasha. He told the committee that the country must invest in quality ECDE and protect the interest of teachers.

“According to research providing quality ECDE reduces the cost of education by 15 per cent for a country,” the PS added. He also said there is urgent need for both levels of Government to harmonise and come up with one scheme of service for ECDE teachers across all counties.

The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) yesterday urged schools to ensure accuracy as they register candidates for the 2023 national exams. In a public notice, KNEC urged head teachers and principals to ensure correct spelling and order of candidates’ names as documented in birth certificates.

They are also to clearly indicate the gender, year of birth and subjects the student has been registered for.

“Please note and ensure accuracy on information of different categories of candidates with special needs like visual, hearing and physical impairment. There will be no registration,” read the notice.

Registration for KCPE and KCSE candidates started on February 1 and will end on March 30. According to KNEC’s registration guidelines, schools with less than five candidates will not be allowed to register candidates for this year’s exam as independent exam centres.

A section of ECDE teachers is pointing fingers at the Governors for partially implementing the ECDE schemes of service for teachers.

According to the teachers, the governors are only placing ECDE teachers in the counties on permanent and pensionable terms and not implementing the salary components as agreed.

The new scheme of service dictate that the lowest teacher (job group F) who is a certificate holder, should earn sh. 21,950 as gross pay.

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Those with Diploma are placed in job group G and should be paid a gross salary of sh. 34,395 while graduates are placed in group K and are to earn sh. 46,494 monthly.

An ECDE teacher from Nyandarua confirmed that though his county has done good to place 381 teachers on permanent terms the salary paid is against the scheme of service.

In May, Nyandarua county moved a total of 381 ECDE teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.

The teachers were employed on a permanent and pensionable basis and each will earn Sh10,000 monthly.

This however is against the scheme of service that was approved by the Council of Governors (CoG) together with Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

Kisumu County Governor Prof. Anyang Nyong’o upgraded the status of 665 ECDE teachers who were serving on contracts.

They are now employed on permanent and pensionable terms by the County Public Service Board in Kisumu and were issued with confirmatory letters of appointment.

However, the governor did not fully implement the scheme of service despite doubling the salaries of the teachers from the 684 ECDE centres located in the county.

On 27th May 2022 Migori governor, Zachary Okoth Obado, moved a total of 589 ECDE teachers in his counties on a permanent and pensionable terms.

Obado too did not fully implement the scheme of service for ECDE teachers to include the required salaries.

Its same story with other counties including Taita Taveta, Bomet, Nyeri, Makueni, Kitui, Baringo, Nandi, Laikipia, Uasin Gishu, Homabay, Embu, Narok, Kericho, Kilifi and Wajir.

The scheme of service came to life after the ECDE bill which was first tabled in 2014 was passed by the Senate and assented by President Uhuru Kenyatta last year.

Some teachers have however praised this move saying its a step towards the right direction. They are hopeful that the next step will be to implement the new salary component.

A whopping 28,300 ECDE tutors are working on contract while a paltry 13,502 are teaching on permanent basis.

This was revealed by the Senate Education Committee Chaired by Alice Milgo.The committee had been investigating reports that most counties pay the pre-primary school tutors below the gazetted government minimum wage which is against Early Childhood Development Education ACT 2021.

The Act stipulates that all county public service boards should remunerate the ECDE tutors according to the said scheme of service.

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The committee noted that the county government employ tutors on poor terms with some earning as low as Sh7,000 while the highest is paid Sh40,000 and in order to marry the difference the committee directed the county governments to engage a budgetary provision to effect the salary increment within the next 60 days.

In this respect,the county governors asked the national government for grants up to the tune of Sh4.3 billion per year from the national treasury to pay ECDE tutors.

The county government chiefs through the Council of Governors said that the provision of yearly grants of Sh2,292 per learner will enable them to effectively fulfil the terms agreed in the scheme of service to the ECDE tutors.

Embu Governor Martin Wambora who is Chairman of the Council of Governors told the Senate Education Committee that their are 1,916,690 ECDE learners in their respective centres who would be able to raise the said Sh4.39 billion.

The report further revealed that the best paying counties are Mandera,Garissa,Embu,Turkana,Kajiado,Kilifi,Kwale,Kiambu,Kisumu,Nairobi and Bungoma and on the other hand,the ten worst paying counties are Kericho,Baringo,Nyandarua,Nandi,Kitui,Laikipia,and Uasin Gishu.

The number of early childhood teachers (ECDE) in the country continues to decline, as the pupil-teacher ratio has kept increasing further.

This is despite counties’ efforts to improve the sector by enrolling more children in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) centres and recruiting teachers for schools.

Between 2014 and 2019, the number of teachers in ECDEs has decreased by 22,472. These fresh details were revealed by A Ministry of Education policy brief report titled “Status of Early Childhood Development in the 47 Counties,” which was released on Thursday.

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According to the data, there were 114,831 ECDE teachers in 2014, but that number had dropped to 92,359 by the end of 2019.

“This may indicate high attrition rates among ECDE teachers in the country,” reads the report.The child-teacher ratio is also a major issue in all counties. According to the report, the ratio has risen over time, from a national average of 25:1 in 2014 to 29:1 and 30:1 in 2016 and 2019, respectively.

Despite the fact that the challenge is replicated throughout the county, Turkana County has the highest child to teacher ratio – 161: 1, indicating classroom congestion.

According to the report, despite the fact that the number of ECDE centre class sizes increased from 40,211 in 2014 to 46,530 in 2019, the average class size of an ECDE centre in Kenya remains unacceptably large, at 59 in 2019, up from 75 in 2014.

The class size in Kakamega County increased by 299 per cent from 83 in 2014 to 248 in 2019. In Kenya, children under the age of five account for approximately 7.2 million of the total population. According to the report, Nairobi and Kiambu have the most children, with 614,901 and 327,181 children, respectively.

An examination of the proportion of under-fives in each county revealed that the under-five population as a percentage of the total population is highest in West Pokot and Mandera counties, at 22 per cent each, and lowest in Kirinyaga (11 per cent), Embu (12 per cent), Nyeri (12 per cent), Tharaka Nithi (12 per cent), and Makueni (12 per cent) (12 per cent). According to the report, child abuse and neglect continue to be major issues throughout the country.

Abuse and neglect are widespread, particularly in Nairobi, Kilifi, Nyandurua, Taita Taveta, Uasin Gishu,Kericho, and Elgeyo Marakwet. Despite the government enacting the Children’s Act of 2001 to protect children, manychildren are still subjected to abuse and neglect, the report states.Kenya has also implemented a number of social protection programs aimed at children from low-income families. Furthermore, the report shows that child mortality rates in Western counties such as

Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, and Homa Bay, as well as Asal counties such as Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa, are alarming.

According to the report, expectant mothers in Narok and West Pokot face barriers to receiving the required four antenatal visits. Most counties have also failed to meet the required immunization rate of 80%.While vaccination coverage in Nairobi and Uasin Gishu counties ranges between 94 and 98 per cent, coverage is extremely low in Turkana (30 per cent), Mandera (32%), and Wajir (38%) according to the report. Due to a lack of clean water, children are also exposed to diseases such as diarrhoea,which is a leading cause of death in children under the age of five.

The ministry of education has opened windows for applicants who hold early childhood development education (ECDE) and primary teacher education (PTE) certificate to upgraded to diploma in early childhood teacher education (DECTE) and diploma in primary teacher education (DIPTE) respectively in teacher training colleges.

All applicants who wish to be considered for admission in diploma in early childhood teacher education and diploma in primary teacher education in TTCs are therefore invited to apply.

The targeted group in the first phase of applications which ends on 13^th August are trained teachers holding ECDE or PTE certificates and not yet employed by TSC, who will be enrolled for a full-time programme. A school-based upgrading programme is being organized for teachers who are already in service and will start once the school calendar normalizes.

To apply, download the application forms from www.education.go.ke . Alternatively, the forms can be obtained from the county director of education offices countrywide.

Duly filled forms should be submitted to the sub-county director of education offices before 13^th August 2021. Those with special needs are encouraged to apply.

Entry requirements for upgrading to diploma in early childhood education

1. The applicant must possess a valid ECDE certificate
2. The applicant must be registered by the teachers’ service commission
3. The duration of the course shall be 1890 hours
4. The course shall be fully residential
5. The trainee shall take courses specified in the upgrading programme of diploma in early childhood teacher education (DECTE)
6. The trainees shall undertake a teaching PRACTICUM OF 300 hours

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7. To be awarded the diploma, the trainee must complete the required hours of course work and pass the stipulated assessment by the Kenya national examinations council, KNEC.

8. The applicant shall be required to produce evidence of adherence to positive moral values and good behavior.

Entry requirements for upgrading to diploma in Primary Teacher education

1. The applicant must possess a valid PTE certificate
2. The applicant must be registered by the teachers’ service commission
3. The duration of the Couse shall be 1500 hours
4. The course shall be fully residential
5. The trainee shall take courses specified in the upgrading programme of diploma in diploma in Primary teacher education (DECTE)
6. The trainees shall undertake a teaching practicum of 300 hours
7. To be awarded the diploma, the trainee must complete the required hours of course work and pass the stipulated assessment by the Kenya national examinations council, KNEC.
8. The applicant shall be required to produce evidence of adherence to positive moral values and good behavior.

The ministry of education has revealed that it is working on the school based programme for teachers with P1 certificates to upgrade to diploma programmes with competency based curriculum pedagogies. The director of teacher education in the ministry of education, Habat Jubat Abdi stated that unlike the current entry grades for those joining directly; the qualification for P1 teachers will only be a P1 certificate.

“KICD (Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development) is working on the School Based Curriculum. We’re not putting entry requirements the same way for direct entry. The entry requirements for teachers who are already practicing will just be the P1 Certificate,” said Abdi.

According to Basic Education Statistical Booklet 2019 released last year by the Ministry of Education,there are 219,732 teachers in public primary schools of whom 175,712 teachers are P1 Certificate holders. His sentiments comes after various education stakeholders and educationist raised concern over the high entry grades put in place by the Ministry for those willing to enroll for Diploma in PrimaryTeacher Education (DPTE).

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According to Abdi, the proposal is not a bad idea since it will give them opportunity to upgrade during the holidays when schools are closed, and unlike the new programme which will take three years for them, it will only take two years.

“I don’t think we will have a problem with the School based in-service programme. If a teacher is given an opportunity to study during the holiday and get the Diploma after two years, they will be more than willing to join,”said Abdi.

Various stakeholders who have raised concern over the low number of those who qualify for the new DPTE and Diploma in Early Childhood Development Education (DECDE) due to high entry requirements put in place by the Ministry of Education when it advertised for the recruitment drive twice.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Deputy Secretary General, Hesbon Otieno raised concern that low number of those qualifying currently may imply that in the near future we may not get adequate teachers skilled with CBC pedagogies in implementing the new curriculum.He called upon the government and qualification authority to review the entrygrades. “I think C- (minus) is not a bad grade but if you put it at C plain then you still get thosechallenges,” said Otieno. He said C plain will create a competition with others like medical and technical courses where one is guaranteed employment after graduating, adding that the government should also put into consideration for teachers with P1 Certificate to upgrade for Diploma programme with CBC skills.

“What will be the option for teachers, do they go for Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) where they are not guaranteed of employment or do they go for the medical fields where they will be guaranteed employment?” asked Otieno.

However, Abdi stated that the entry requirements can only be reviewed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and as the Ministry they can just have a discussion with the commission.” The entry requirementsfor those wishing to enter the teaching service is the constitutional mandate of the TSC as the Ministry, that is something which is not within our purview,” stated Abdi.

Chairperson of Kenya Teachers College Principals Association (KTCPA), Saul Baraza who is also Principal at St. Paul Kibabii Diploma Teachers Training College said that they don’t have a problem with the requirements though he raised concern that Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) may not get the right numbers as per the moment.

“We don’t have a problem on the entry requirements but the only challenge when it comes to operationalization is that it seems out there, there are few candidates with those grades as of now because, when students finish Form Four some of them don’t stay at home for a long time especially those who have done well in Mathematics and Sciences,” said Baraza.

According to Abdi, they are expecting very few numbers of those who qualify for the programme even after the re-advertisement since they targeted to place about 7,000 students in the 30 Public TTCs across the country.“I guess we can just have a few more hundreds but we cannot reach the figure that we want,” said Abdi.

The Ministry has re-advertised the admission into the Diploma programme which is expected to commence in May this year, after it emerged that few candidates qualified during the February-March advert. According to the new regulations, applicants for a Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) should have a KCSE Mean Grade of C (Plain) or its equivalent with a C Plain in English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, and also a C in any of the Humanities subject and Sciences subjects.

However, for candidates with disabilities, the minimum entry grade is C- (Minus) and a C- (Minus) in the cluster of subjects stated above. Applicants for the Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education (DECTE) require a C (plain) Mean Grade in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (KCSE) or its equivalent (as equated by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), with candidates with disabilities being admitted with a C- (minus) grade in KCSE or its equivalent.The duration of both courses shall be three years in accordance with the approved Curriculum designs.

For qualification, a candidate is being assessed in various areas by the Zonal Education Officer which includes academic qualifications and quality of certificates which have 12 and 60 marks respectively, co-curricular activities which carries a total of 8 marks and length of stay since Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) which was allocated a total of 20 marks. Mwingi Teachers Training

College director Julius Muinde Mutukaa appealed to the government to review the entry grades for the Diploma programme in teacher education. “The grade has been raised to C plain meaning those with D plus will be locked out. As if the grade is not enough, there is mandatory requirement for specific subjects. It might be hard and that’s why we are calling for review,” added Mutukaa. Next.