Student Centre

Like any other country, the history of learning and education in Kenya is as old as human. Even before the formal education system was introduced people used to learn. The young generation used to learn from elders by word of mouth and apprenticeship in different art and skills. 

Post-independent Kenya has navigated and adopted 3 different curriculum models to meet its needs and requirements and the world change. After independence, Kenya adopted the 7-4-2-3 which was later changed to 8-4-4 in 1985 from the recommendation of the Mackay report of 1982. 

To meet the world’s emerging trends, the country adopted the CBC curriculum in 2017, which focuses more on the learner’s ability and competence. The CBC uses the structure of 2-6-3-3-3. 2 years are pre-primary, 6 years for primary, 3 for junior secondary, 3 for senior secondary, and a minimum of 3 years for university.

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A diploma course is a skill-based level of training that equips students with skills for middle-level managers. The diploma courses offered in Kenya are in different fields such as engineering, technical, business computing and informatics, fashion, hospitality, and health science among others.

Diploma course minimum requirements

The basic minimum requirement to pursue any diploma course in Kenya is a KCSE mean grade of C- or a pass in the relevant craft certificate course. However, some courses may require a C plain and specific pass in some subjects depending on the field.

Diploma courses are offered in universities, national polytechnics, TTIs, and TVCs both public and private. The examinations and certification for diplomas are done by different bodies such as KNEC, TVETCDACC, KASNEB, Professional bodies, universities, etc.

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The Teacher Service Commission (TSC) is established by the Kenya Constitution 2010 article 237 to manage teacher issues in the education system in Kenya. One of the main functions of the TSC commission is to register all teachers who are operating in Kenya whether employed by the government or not. It is also mandated to recruit and employ teachers in primary and secondary schools and other institutions that the TSC manages.

To achieve this mandate there are established guidelines and requirements for registration as a teacher and recruitment. The guidelines are also used when students want to enroll in teacher school to be trained as teachers.

To register as a teacher in Kenya you are required to have a Diploma or Bachelor’s in education in the respective area of specialization. You should also meet all other general requirements as set out by TSC.

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The Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development (TPAD) is an online system that TSC uses for quality assurance and performance evaluation of teachers. As per the Teachers Service Commission Code of Regulations for Teachers, 2015 TSC is mandated to create an open appraisal system to strengthen supervision and continuously monitor the performance of teachers in curriculum implementation.

The system was introduced in 2016 for both primary and post-primary teachers. The headteacher is the oversight authority in the institution concerning TPAD.

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To streamline education in Kenya and content delivery in classrooms the TSC has guidelines that indicate the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders within its organization structure. 

From the headteacher and classroom teacher roles and functions the TSC has developed a checklist of professional and legal documents that each should maintain. 

It should be noted that these documents are used to evaluate the teacher during the appraisal process that is done on the TPAD system. In this regard, the document must be maintained, updated, and available at any time when requested by the supervisor.

Some of the professional documents for a teacher are timetables, scheme of work, the record of work, syllabi, notes, TPAD records, record of marks, and cocurricular activities among others. The headteacher documents are master timetables, staff personal files, BOM meetings, circulars, and memos among others.

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Education functions in Kenya are not devolved and hence they are managed by the national government under the Ministry of Education and for teachers the TSC. However, the TSC is allowed to have its officers devolved into counties and sub-counties for easy management of teachers.

To manage all the teachers in public primary, secondary, and teacher training schools the TSC has offices in all the counties and sub-counties in the country.

The role assigned to county directors is the overall management of teacher and TSC matters at the county or subcounty level. Their roles include recruitment, transfer, TPAD, discipline, promotions, and enforcing TSC guidelines among other responsibilities assigned from headquarters.

In this article, we cover the roles and functions of both county and sub-county directors as stipulated in the TSC Code of Regulations for Teachers, 2015.

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National goals of education give guiding principles on what a country’s education system seeks to achieve when a person goes through the system. The very first national goals in Kenya were formulated after Kenya became independent. They were highlighted in the first education commission led by Ominde in 1964 (Ominde Report).

They have been changed and improved but in general, they are the same. All other commissions and education reports keep on adopting those 8 national goals of education. The new CBC curriculum framework (BECF 2017) by KICD which introduced CBC still adopted the same goals.

So the government has been implementing the same goals of education since independence. However, the level at which these educational goals have been achieved is something that needs to be studied to ascertain how far we are in achieving them.

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