Kenya’s public universities have been directed to begin in-service teacher education ahead of the rollout of the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system in senior schools (Grade 10) by January 2026.
The retooling programme aims to address a major skills gap, with more than 154,000 secondary school teachers currently lacking the required competencies to teach the new career pathways—STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports.
Principal Secretary for Higher Education and Research, Dr Beatrice Inyangala, has instructed all public universities to urgently commence the training initiative, describing it as a national priority. “The students will transition to senior school in January, but the teachers set to handle them are not adequately prepared. This must change—starting now,” she said.
She emphasised that the retooling must begin in July, and called on universities to embed the matter in their council agendas going forward. The directive follows high-level consultations involving education stakeholders and government officials.
To support the transition of approximately 1.2 million learners to senior school, the Ministry of Education has allocated Sh600 million for teacher training through the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). The TSC has already trained over 7,000 school principals and is overseeing CBE rollout across seven learner cohorts.
Julius Melly, Chair of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, said retooling is already underway and there is adequate time to prepare teachers. “Capacity building is part and parcel of teaching,” he said. “Teachers are always adapting to new skills and methods.”
The government sees this national effort as a crucial step in equipping learners with practical, real-world competencies aligned with the demands of a changing economy.