CEMASTEA Urges Government to Increase Funding for Teacher Training Amid CBC Rollout

CEMASTEA Urges Government to Increase Funding for Teacher Training Amid CBC Rollout

Center for Mathematics Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) has urged the national government to facilitate more funding towards retooling and retraining of teachers in a bid to ensure that the Curriculum Based Competency syllabus is a success as it continues to be rolled out in the country.

Speaking after a week long Lamu County Principals’ workshop held in Lamu today, Martin Mungai, Deputy Coordinator for STEM under CEMASTEA stated that the move by the national government to steer into the CBC syllabus will need to ensure that teachers are facilitated in terms of training as the programme moves into Grade 10.

He further noted that there will be a need for greater support in terms of facilitation not only for training but also for equipment and more facilities such as laboratories for the successful transition and adoption of STEM subjects under the CBC syllabus.

“There is a need for teachers especially within the Junior Secondary School to be retrained in order for the Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) subjects to be fully adopted under the CBC programme as it is,” he stated.

He however noted that teachers need to also be open and positive towards the CBC programme as it continues to rollout.

Sentiments echoed by Shumi Ali Mohammed, Lamu Department of Education Deputy Director revealed that such workshops provide teachers with the insight as to how CBC is supposed to be taught and adopted.

She further added that a lot of sensitization is underway to ensure the success of the new syllabus programme which she said is meant to be a collaborative effort between teachers, parents and school administrators.

Shumi was however optimistic that if the teachers become more positive towards the CBC programme especially when it comes to the teaching of science, technology and mathematics subjects, students are more likely to succeed due to the nature of CBC being more student oriented rather than tutor instructive as the 8-4-4 module has been.