The government has announced changes to the recruitment process for applicants seeking to join the Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs).
According to the directive issued by the Principal Secretary for Early Learning and Basic Education, Julius Jwan, on Wednesday, October 6, all applications to TTCs will be conducted by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS).
This means that the applicants will be selected and placed into training colleges the same ways as the University and College students are admitted.
PS Jwan noted that the new recruitment formula through KUCCPS will enable the applicants to benefit from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) assistance just like students in other institutions.
Before the changes, the Ministry of Education was tasked with managing the recruitment and placement of prospective teachers into the training colleges.
The new policy means that Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates can now choose to be selected for Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) or Diploma in Early Childhood Development Teacher Education (DECTE) when applying for post-secondary education training programmes.
The Principal Secretary at the same time announced that the Ministry will be part of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) grants that will be channeled towards modernising Teacher Training Colleges.
GPE supports many other countries in building more resilient education systems.
This grant comes from the Global Education Summit that was co-hosted by United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and President Uhuru Kenyatta that raised Ksh443 billion.
“Teacher Training colleges will be part and parcel of the GPE programme,” Jwan stated.
Moreover, the PS announced that Auditor General Nancy Gachungu has been given a go-ahead to audit the finances of public schools.
The finances to be audited include money schools receive as grants, students’ fees, and donations are public funds subject to public finance management laws.
