TSC’s April retooling of Science teachers commended for discipline and dedication
April’s retooling for the over 19,000 science-based teacher interns conducted by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was characterized by distinctive features anticipated of any Junior Secondary School (JSS) cohort.
The initiative, which concluded last Friday, prompted numerous Master Trainers and Trainers of Trainees to communicate and share observations about the attributes of the April group across their respective regions.
In discussions with Education News during the concluding survey of the retooling, many trainers commended the April group for their remarkable display of discipline, expressing a desire for the exercise to extend beyond the allotted timeframe.
In contrast to their arts-based counterparts, who were retooled throughout 2024, the science-based interns demonstrated punctuality, arriving at the training venues as early as 7:30 am.
“They compelled us to arrive at the venues quite early, in contrast to their arts colleagues, who often kept us waiting for extended periods. This was a distinct group,” concurred one of the trainers from Nairobi.
In addition to adhering to and maintaining punctuality, the teachers exhibited a heightened eagerness towards the training.
The majority of them engaged in note-taking and readily posed questions, seeking clarifications on aspects that appeared unclear.
The teachers, who constituted a significant portion of the first cohort to undergo retooling on a Competency-Based Curriculum, surprised the trainers by relating practical experiences pertinent to the training outcomes with pronounced self-efficacy.
Their practical approach reportedly facilitated the trainers’ work, allowing them to complete the training content intended for five days within four days, as one day was lost to the Easter holidays.
Unlike the typically boisterous teachers characterized by inquiries concerning reimbursement, meal provisions, certification, airtime availability, and the duration of the training, the April training centers were noted for their tranquility and interactivity.
The training included Special Needs Education (SNE) teachers who convened at the county level. The survey indicated that pre-vocational teachers were not included in the recently concluded exercise.
Intern teachers from age-based special schools, including those for hearing, visual, and physically impaired individuals, were the focus of April’s retooling. It was further observed that TSC had not enlisted teachers for the prevocational level in the special schools. Teachers managing intermediate levels are assigned to the prevocational classes, a circumstance that raises numerous concerns.