Days after education CS George Magoha proposed the closure of some degree courses; plans are underway to scrap the 47-year-old Bachelor of Education Degree.
In radical proposals by education ministry policy experts, the popular B.Ed. will be abolished and replaced with a five-year rigorous teacher training program.
Under the proposal, secondary school graduates who qualify to join university will do basic degrees in either science or arts before proceeding for one-year postgraduate diploma training.
The Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) will enrol them as teachers after successful completion of the postgraduate diploma.
The government, in what appears to have been borrowed heavily from the training of advocates, will establish the Kenya school of education to offer final exams and certification to trainees joining the teaching profession.
The five years will be divided into two tiers. The students will first be required to complete a bachelor’s degree in either science or arts in two subjects they wish to teach.
This will be followed by a post-graduate diploma in education scheduled to run for a year. Secondary school teachers will only be certified and allowed to teach after the post-graduate diploma.
In the first four years, the learners will acquire their bachelor’s degree to equip them on subject content followed by a diploma that will take a year to equip them with ethics, and management skills.