The recent requirement by the ministry of education for the 2021 teachers' training application has drawn criticism from education stakeholders.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary-General Wilson Sossion said the requirement for a minimum of C plain in all KCSE subjects required to be trained as a primary school teacher will lock out thousands of form four leavers in the country.
"There is no need to set a minimum grade for cluster subjects as these leaves out many students who scored an overall minimum grade of C plain in their KCSE," Sossion said.
In addition to the minimum requirement per subject, the ministry of education also announced that all applicants must have a mean grade of C plain except for those with disabilities whose mean grade is a C- (minus).
Sossion further argued that the new subject grade requirements for one to be trained for a Diploma in the Teachers Training College (TTC) is impractical.
The subjects listed by the ministry of education includes English, Kiswahili, Mathematics and any humanity and science subjects which must all be a C plain or above.
Needy students on the other hand are required to have a C- (minus) in all the listed cluster subjects.
According to the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) statistics, there were 63,102 candidates with a C plain mean grade in the 2019 national exams.
Some of the students joined Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in July of 2020 while others waited for the May 2021 teachers training intake.
In addition to locking out thousands of students in the training programs, Sossion argues that the average number of form four leavers being trained to take over after older teachers go for retirement will reduce significantly.
Austine Owuor, a 2019 KCSE candidate who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke said that he attained a minimum mean grade required but had a C- (minus) in one of the cluster subjects.
"It is unfortunate to miss out on the training just because of one subject which I had C- (minus). I was looking forward to this year's intake but it seems I might have to look for another option," He said.
The ongoing application for teachers training for 2021 intake across the country is scheduled to end on Sunday, March 7, 2021.
