• The proposal will see some teachers in primary school promoted to teach in junior secondary
• Knut is opposed to the proposal as the union might lose members to Kuppet
Some primary school teachers could be promoted to teach in secondary schools under the new curriculum.
The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development wants class seven and eight teachers elevated because the primary school cycle will be shortened to six years.
The two classes will be dropped from primary school and incorporated to junior secondary school.
The proposal has already been sent to Education CS George Magoha.
Two things have been put to consideration in the proposal, one is to have junior secondary hosted in primary and two to train the teachers to offer junior secondary education.
However, sources familiar with the proposal say the new development does not sit well with the Kenya National Union of Teachers as it foresees a situation where some of its members will exit to join the sister union Kuppet.
Membership conflict
Knut is against the new curriculum and has urged its members to boycott training that began yesterday.
Magoha has hit out at the union for opposing the competence-based curriculum, saying the train has left the station and there will be no turning back.
"We will not waste time talking about things which are not important concerning the competency-based curriculum," Magoha said.
However, Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion yesterday downplayed the claims terming them as rumours.
"Knut represents a big number of teachers who teach in secondary schools.. claims that we will lose membership are ill informed and a plan to divert attention from the real issues," Sossion told the Star on phone.
Knut has a membership of 188,765 with 78 per cent of them being primary school teachers.
Sossion maintains the need to shelf the new curriculum to give dialogue under a national education conference to give way to engagement that will inform curriculum reforms.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers on the other hand has a membership of 78,000 teachers.
Most of them were previously Knut members. Kuppet secretary general Akello Misori yesterday said the union was ready to expand its pool of members should they opt to leave Knut.
"It is an open field and we are accomodative not just when the change comes but even at the moment," Misori said.
The government began training 91,320 teachers on the new curriculum.
"In August and December this year another 68,490 will be trained in each of the school holidays. Thus by end of December, a total of 228,3000 teachers will have been trained," Teachers Service Commission boss Nancy Macharia said yesterday.
Treasury has allocated Sh500million for training teachers in CBC this month.
Implementation of the new curriculum began in January and targets grades one to three.
CBC will be implemented for Grade Four learners in 2020 in public and private primary schools.
"I am assuring the country that we will by September 2019 have a clear masterplan for rolling out the CBC in Class Four next year," Magoha said yesterday in Nairobi.