ECDE college Risk Closure due to high entry requirements and lack of students.
A Kilifi county Early Child Development Education (ECDE) institution is on the verge of closing due to the government’s decision to raise the entry to mean grade to C. (plain).
Ntondwe Walakisa, Chief Principal of the Kilifi District Centre for Early Childhood Education, said the college’s predicament has been exacerbated by county governments in the Coast region’s refusal to recognize its certificates.
He claimed that the institution is on its deathbed and that if local leaders do not act, it will follow in the footsteps of those in Kwale and Mombasa, which died many years ago.
“One of the reasons why the institution faces closure is that the county does not recognise diploma teachers who graduate from this institution,” he said.
Qualifications to be an ECD Teacher
– Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) minimum grade D+(Plus) or KCE division IV
– at ‘O’ Level;
– Certificate in Early Childhood Development Education offered by KNEC/Ministry of Education
– or its approved equivalent;
– A certificate in Computer proficiency;
– Certificate of Good Conduct.
Speaking at the 34th graduation ceremony of the Kilifi Resource Centre, area Woman Representative Gertrude Mbeyu decried the situation, noting that the facility was built with taxpayers’ money.
“This is my baby project. I personally built this institution after seeing the need when I was the area MCA from 2013 to 2017 after several years of seeking opportunities in Kilifi town and other areas for many years,” she said.
Following the revision of the entry grades, she asked Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha to elevate it to a teachers training college.
Area MCA John Mwamtsi has stated that he will table a motion in the County Assembly to save the institution.
Donald Kahindi, Director of Kilifi ECDE, challenged the graduates to be innovative,
Mr Donald Kahindi, the director of ECDE Kilifi County Government, urged those who graduated to be innovative and change in a competitive world rather than waiting for the Ministry to reverse its stance on the intake marks if they want to advance their careers.
He reminded the graduates that the learning system of the 8-4-4 is being phased out and that the government is replacing it with the new curriculum of 2-6-6-3, which they must accept and embrace in order to have a positive future in the teaching profession.
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“Today is the end of certificate courses for ECDE teachers but on the other hand the opening door of diploma courses which has a higher starting salary scale for you, as pioneer students make sure you immediately enrol for the diploma course to be on the upper hand,” said Kahindi.
ECDE college Risk Closure due to high entry requirements and lack of students.
