Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will weed out teachers who constantly present poor performance in Teacher Professional Development (TPD) training programme.
Sources say the Commission’s plan is to remain with a sophisticated pool of employees that is equipped with modern trends of education.
A concept report shows TSC has established that most teachers are inadequately trained while some do not adhere to prescribed professional standards, which adversely affect performance.
The teachers’ employer says the recent trends in Primary Teacher Education (PTE) revealed teachers’ weaknesses in ineffective teaching strategies, preparation of professional records, poor classroom management, incompetency in handling learners with special needs and weak assessment and feedback skills that necessitates the training.
TSC says some school heads are not able to analyse books of accounts, communicate effectively with teachers and parents, build a spirit of shared goals for school improvement and also have poor resource utilisation abilities.
In addition to these, TSC says content knowledge among a majority of teachers does not attain the set benchmark in English, Mathematics and Science due to poor content mastery.
It is against this backdrop that TSC is seeking to provide teachers with professional training and support throughout their teaching career.
TSC launched TPD programme on 22nd September 2021 and has since escalated campaigns for teachers to register for training which starts in December 2021.
The Commission says it has a statutory mandate through TSC Act 2012 section 11(e) to facilitate professional development for teachers.
“Section 35(2)(a) and (b) of the Act and Regulations 48 & 49 of Code of Regulations for Teachers states that, all teachers are obligated to undertake professional development courses as prescribed by the Commission from time to time,” reads TPD framework.
Despite TPD Service Providers wooing teachers to enroll for the programme, the numbers have refused to soar with most teachers choosing to abstain.
However the latest revelation that teachers who will fail their TPD tests will have only one chance to re-sit has left a section of TSC teachers shaken.
Only successful teachers will be issued with TPD points, transcript and a certificate after completion of every module.
A teacher will be issued with a teaching certificate after every five years and only after successfully taking the modules.
Those who will not have taken the Modules or failed will not be granted teaching license and may not be authorized to teach.
Each Module is made up of five chapters. The contract document defines a chapter as a critical area of knowledge and skills in a module that informs the development of learning units. Each chapter will be taken every year and will cost Sh6,000.
“For renewal of the teaching certificate, a teacher must have completed 5 chapters of a module and provide documentary evidence of having successful completion.
Upon commencement of the TPD Programme, all serving teachers will be required to acquire Teaching Certificate renewable every 5 years, while the subsequent applicants for Certificate of Registration will be issued with both certificates,” reads TPD framework.
According to the teachers employer each of the 340,000 in its payroll must undertake the mandatory professional courses that will inform their promotion and professional growth.
Teachers will pay sh. 6,000 yearly for the training that takes thirty years.
Classroom teachers will take up modules separate from the senior teachers, mostly institutional leaders and senior staff.
Modules for teachers will include professionalism, pedagogy, Competency-Based Curriculum and Assessment, inclusive education practices, comprehensive school health and safety, instructional leadership, and financial literacy skills.
For institutional administrators, the modules will include professionalism, Competency-Based Curriculum and Assessment, leadership in high-quality instruction and assessment, professional learning environment, building a positive inclusive learning environment, comprehensive school health, and financial literacy skills.
TSC picked Mount Kenya University, Kenyatta University, Riara University and Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI) to offer TPD training.
The programme will be offered both face to face and virtually (online). Teachers will have face to face training once a year during the December school holidays.
Online training will be offered twice a year during the April and August school holidays.
However TSC is facing opposition from different quarters with teachers unions, educationists, lawyers and Mps calling calling for the Commission to carry the cost of training teachers.
