Senate rejects Ministry plan to merge ECDE and primary teacher training

The Senate has pushed back against a Ministry of Education plan to merge Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teacher training with primary teacher education, warning that the move threatens devolution and could destabilise early learning in counties.

Lawmakers sitting in the Senate Education Committee said the directive, issued through an administrative circular, crosses constitutional lines by shifting control of ECDE teacher training back to the national government, despite the function being devolved to county governments.

At issue is a proposal by the Ministry to collapse the Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education (DECTE) and the Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE) into a single qualification, the Diploma in Teacher Education – Pre-Primary and Primary (DTE PP & P).

Committee chairperson Senator Betty Montet told the meeting that any changes touching on ECDE must involve counties and the public, warning that policy decisions cannot be imposed from Nairobi without consultation.

“This is not a minor administrative adjustment. It has real consequences for counties, training institutions and learners,” she said.

Senators also raised alarm over the fallout for students and colleges already operating under existing ECDE guidelines. Machakos Senator Kavindu Muthama said the abrupt shift has left trainees uncertain about their qualifications and future placement.

Concerns were further raised about the quality of early learning. Kajiado Senator Seki Lenku Ole Kanar cautioned that ECDE requires specialised training and warned that merging it with primary teacher education risks weakening the foundation of the Competency-Based Curriculum.

County governments have come out strongly against the move. Appearing before the committee, Kericho Governor Dr Eric Kipkoech Mutai, representing the Council of Governors, said counties were not consulted before the directive was issued.

He warned that the merger could disrupt county education systems, strain budgets and roll back gains made in early childhood education since devolution.

With senators signalling resistance, the proposed merger now faces a major hurdle, setting up a fresh confrontation between counties and the national government over control of early learning.