The Ministry of Education has ordered about 3,000 teachers to go back to school and retrain or risk being dropped from their teaching jobs.
According to a circular by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) PS Julius Jwan, the order was given to college trainers who do not have a teaching background.
“We want these tutors to be trained on the method and practice of teaching, what we call pedagogy training. Some of them only mastered technical aspects of their trade but we want them to know how to impart those skills to learners,” said Jwan.
The first group of tutors to attend training will commence classes on February 4, 2021.
The mandatory training has been scheduled to take place at the Kenya Technical Trainers College (KTTC) in Nairobi's Gigiri area.
The teachers were given a grace period of two years to undergo the training and those who will not have upgraded their skills will be dropped from teaching in technical institutions.
The tutors have been hired by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and assigned to numerous TVET institutions throughout the country.
Many of them were also moved from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) roster and put under the PSC.
The government has been sprucing up TVET institutions to help provide technical education to many students who miss out on universities and colleges.
Speaking in January 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta recognised that TVETs equip the youth with requisite skills that enable them to use their hands and their God-given talents to secure gainful employment in the increasingly competitive job environment.
“That was the dream of our founders. We lost it somewhere when we all came and started believing that the future was in everybody having a degree.
“But the truth of the matter is that the bulk of the jobs that are available for our people is through the use of the talents that they have. That is why we have put a huge emphasis on TVET to give our people the skills needed to satisfy the employment requirements of the 21st Century. This is where we must invest,” the President said.
