The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has proposed the end to the Bachelor of Education Degree (BED) which has been pursued by teaching professionals in the country for four decades.
Instead, the commission proposes that they pursue a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree followed by a 1 year post graduate Diploma in Education. This is part of the plan to introduce the Competent Based Curriculum (CBC) to Kenyan universities.
TSC states that the proposal is in line with the teaching framework and requirements of education professionals in the 21st century, reiterating that the reforms are prompted by the introduction of CBC.
Since 1972, teachers in the country have undertaken BED. The commission, however, stated that it will employ untrained teachers, prior to the introduction of the new curriculum.
The proposal was drafted by the TSC Director of Quality and Standards (QAS) Dr. Reuben Nthamburi.
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In the new curriculum, students wishing to be teachers will have to attain a minimum grade of C+ and a minimum of B- in three teaching subjects.
"In order to professionalise the teaching service and improve the quality of education, the commission needs to review the entry level grades to the teaching service and advice the government. This will raise the standards of the teaching profession and attract more quality grades," the report read in part.
The report states that students with qualifications in subjects not in the new curriculum will not qualify for registration and employment by TSC regardless of having a post-graduate diploma.
The report has, however, attracted criticism from education university leacturers and the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) who have termed it unnecessary and baseless.
