CEMASTEA Chief Officer Jacinta Akatsa, section of board members and project partners monitoring students during the Virtual STEM Lab showcase at Nairobi School Primary on June 23, 2023.
The Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) will train 5,400 secondary school teachers from next month on how to utilise technology, especially artificial intelligence, in the competency-based education (CBE) in senior school.
The group's director, Jacinta Akatsa, said the 5,300 teachers will be trained on CBE ahead of its rollout in senior schools in January 2026.
“In August, we will train 5,300 senior school teachers on technology. We also have another training for laboratory technicians to enhance their skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), pathways,” said Ms Akatsa.
Ms Akatsa urged teachers to take learners to the centre, which is located in Nairobi, for more STEM learning. In an interview with the Nation, Ms Akatsa said the centre is currently training 2,500 junior school teachers on ICT to strengthen their capacity on AI, use the technology in teaching, lesson planning and assessments.
The director said the institute has been working closely with the junior school teachers in the implementation of the CBE, which is currently in Grade 9. The institute has so far trained over 60,000 junior school teachers in specific areas of CBE, including the interpretation of curriculum designs, content knowledge, and other areas.
“But importantly, we have trained them on ICT integration, especially where they are seeing challenges in equipment in schools, we are now training them on the use of virtual laboratories. To have teachers overcome the shortage of equipment and to also support experiential learning,” said Ms Akatsa.
CEMASTEA Chief Officer Jacinta Akatsa, section of board members and project partners monitoring students during the Virtual STEM Lab showcase at Nairobi School Primary on June 23, 2023.
This comes as school principals urge the State to fast-track the retooling of secondary school teachers in the three career pathways, ahead of the transition. The pathways are science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), social sciences and arts and sports.
Some 1.2 million learners in Grade 9 will transition to senior school in January next year; however, principals have expressed fears over preparedness.
Last month, the Principal Secretary for Higher Education, Beatrice Inyangala, said that teachers in secondary schools lack competency in the three pathways for senior school. There are 154,200 teachers in secondary schools.
The PS directed all public universities to urgently begin the in-service teacher education program. With the roll-out of CBE, secondary schools will hence be referred to as senior schools.
Koitaleel Samoei University College principal, Prof Winston Akala, urged the State to ensure that senior school teachers interact with the education materials in advance in preparation for implementing the senior school curriculum pathways.
