A total of 263 Junior secondary school teachers in Kitui county are being trained on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects to enable them to handle Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) learners competently.
The 263 JSS tutors who are also departmental heads (HODs) of STEM subjects in their respective schools are drawn from both government and private institutions across the county.
The four-day training workshop, which kicked off on Tuesday, is being held concurrently at Mulango and Muthale Girls’ Secondary Schools in Kitui County. The exercise is set to end on Friday.
The Ministry of Education, through the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA), organized the training with the aim of equipping the tutors with necessary skills and knowledge to effectively implement the CBE framework.
Following the training, the JSS tutors will be able to effectively handle the senior school learners who specialize in one of the three pathways, which include Arts and Sports science, social sciences, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Speaking at Mulango Girls when he officially launched the training, Kitui County Director of Education Dr. Issack Hassan said the workshop would equip the JSS tutors with knowledge on Innovation, critical thinking, communication, technology, digital skills as well as problem-solving skills, which is very necessary as they handle the senior school learners.
“Since not all learners are academically gifted, the CBC curriculum also supports talents and different abilities to allow growth in sports, arts and technical skills meant to prepare the students for self-employment,” the County Education boss added.
He emphasized that the new curriculum mandates teachers to be ICT-compliant in order to effectively carry out tasks such as remote learning and live streaming of lessons, where both teachers and learners would engage using technology.
While drumming up support for the new CBC education system, Dr Hassan underscored that many countries across the world are moving toward skills-based education systems for real-life impact, thus taking early career pathways based especially on Art, STEM and Technical skills.
On the safety of learners who are currently at home upon end of the first term, the educationist urged parents to safeguard their children from engaging in drugs and immorality, among other harmful social activities. He also cautioned learners against crossing or swimming in swollen rivers during this holiday.
By Denson Mututo
