- Garissa Teachers' Training College has been facing a myriad of challenges, among them, lack of enough students.
- This almost led to the college being closed, with the numbers shrinking to as little as 40.
Image: STEPHEN ASTARIKO
A section of leaders and education stakeholders from Garissa have thanked President William Ruto for acting on the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform in Kenya.
The working party suggested the removal of the subject cluster combination.
The leaders said the policy was the biggest hindrance to students wishing to join the teaching fraternity.
During their tour in counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa, the issue of doing away with the policy and lowering of the grade entry grade featured prominently, with leaders and various education stakeholders calling for a review.
The policy, they said, directly affects the education sector, which has subsequently led to poor performance.
The leaders led by Garissa Governor Nathif Jama, Garissa Kenya National Union of Teachers executive secretary Abdirizack Hussein said that the new rule, which only requires one to have a C plain, will see many of the local students join teaching colleges.
Jama was speaking at the Garissa Teachers' Training College, where he met with the institution's board of management ahead of its opening .
The college has been facing a myriad of challenges, among them, lack of enough students.
This almost led to the college being closed, with the numbers shrinking to as little as 40.
Jama said that contrary to the earlier argument that the mean grade was what was locking many potential students wishing to join the college, the issue of subject cluster was the main problem.
“This is a happy season for us here at the college because after a long wait of many, many years, today, we are able to celebrate many of our boys and girls who have now applied to be trained as teachers,” the county chief said.
He said that he was impressed by the numbers who have applied to join the college, disclosing that a total of 700 students had applied from a meagre number of 100 who had sought admission in the previous year.
“I want to sincerely thank His Excellency the President for appointing the task force and subsequently moving with speed to approve the recommendations accordingly,” the governor said.
Jama thanked the college board for enrolling as many students as possible, saying that the real work now begins. He promised to help the institution in terms of infrastructure, bursaries and scholarships.
He also challenged fellow leaders and other development partners to chip in and get the college back on track.
The governor said that his administration will construct a new dormitory of 125-bed capacity, adding that the exercise will start as soon as the procurement requirements are complete.
The college's board of management led by Abdi Billow, while describing the development as a new beginning for the institution, said that they would work closely with all leaders and other stakeholders to get the college back on track.
Billow said that having more local students join the institution will go along way in having a homegrown solution to the teacher shortage.
Hussein said issue of teacher shortage will be a thing of the past in three years to come.
He said that a majority of schools, especially in the far-flung areas, were being run by one teacher, something that he said continues to compromise education standards.
Abdirhamn Abdullahi, a third year student, urged more local students to enrol for the teaching course.
“This is a very good opportunity to students, especially those from this region. Now one can enrol for this noble course regardless of the cluster subjects that brought headache to many students. Let us be part of the solution,” he said.
Image: STEPHEN ASTARIKO