Teachers Service Commission sets higher grades for new teachers

By AUGUSTINE ODUOR and LINAH BENYAWA

Kenya: The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has planned a stringent set of measures to enhance the quality of education.

Commission Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni said the minimum entry requirement for primary school teachers would be a diploma certificate.

The teacher employer said persons wishing to be trained as teachers shall now be holders of at least a C+(plus). The current minimum requirement is grade C (plain). 

Mr Lengoiboni said there is need to get more qualified persons joining the profession at P1 level and noted that raising the entry requirement is the first step.

He said this grade should also be eliminated from the scheme of service just like the P2 was phased out.

“We are in consultation with the parent ministry on these and once we are in agreement, we shall implement them immediately,” he said.

He also said all teachers would be required to undertake courses in professional development every three years. He said each teacher will be required to take out a certificate of proof for having undertakeng the course and warned those who fail to do so shall not be allowed to teach in any school.

Then who pays?

He said time is up for trial and error management for teachers and noted the Commission is coming up with modules that teachers will be expected to study.

“We are already in talks with universities on this to ensure the content of the modules are accepted by the employer,” he said.

He said school and finance management is one of the modules being planned for deputies and their heads.

“Curriculum implementation and supervision, Information and Communication Technology integration, guiding and counselling are also some of the modules we are set to introduce,” he said.

The over 7,000 secondary school heads challenged the teachers’ employer why they pay for their capacity development yet the exercise is beneficial to the sector.

Kenya Secondary School Heads Association national chairman John Awiti said: “Why should teachers pay for some of these trainings?” he said.

Lengoiboni said given the budgetary constraints, the commission is not able to pay for teacher training but noted  they are in partnership with specific institutions like the Kenya Education Management Institute.