Photo source: businessdailyafrica.com
The government will as from next year increase the number of teacher trainee slots for North Eastern region by 500 so that the region can have enough teaching staff, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. Jacob Kaimenyi has said.
Kaimenyi said the move is among the measures the government is putting in place to end the learning crisis that has engulfed the region for over a year now due to insecurity concerns.
Learning in most parts of the region, including Garissa and Mandera Counties has been stuck, after over 1,000 teachers who had been deployed to the region boycotted classes over security threats.
The crisis also follows a Garissa University College terrorist attack which claimed over 147 lives and left many others injured.
Even though learning has been paralysed in the region for three consecutive terms, Kaimenyi maintained that students from the region will seat for the national exams (KCPE and KCSE) just like other students across the country.
“The decision was arrived at following a consultative meeting with Members of Parliament from the region and other Stakeholders in the education sector,” he added.
Kaimenyi said the government has embarked on a security policy system in schools to ensure that there are sufficient security arrangements in the institutions.
The CS was speaking on Friday at his Jogoo House Office when an organization which promotes peace among communities in Nairobi County, Give Kenya Interface Forum paid him a courtesy call.