TSC creates new roles over curriculum, rising numbers

Education CS Amina Mohamed (R) addresses a press conference alongside PS Belio Kipsang (L) and Teachers Service Commission (TSC)CEO Nancy Macharia during the release of a report on preparedness for the 2018 KCPE and KCSE National examinations. [Photo: David Njaaga, Standard]

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has rolled out a fresh shake-up aimed at addressing challenges in schools management and curriculum delivery.

An increase in the number of teachers to more than 300,000 has forced the commission to while scrapping others, forcing TSC to re-organise its operations.

The number of teachers is set to rise further this year as TSC seeks to recruit some 10,000 teachers annually to meet the 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary schools. With this, TSC commissioned a study to look into the need to restructure its operations.

Regional directors

A report seen by School and College reveals that all job group S and T positions at the commission will now be filled competitively.

Job group T is occupied by a deputy commission secretary while directors are on job group S. Also to be filled competitively will be regional directors and staff on job groups P, Q and R.

According to the new reforms, the commission has split the position of director of teacher management into three parts to delineate functions offered to school teachers and serve them better.

The three teacher management divisions to be headed by directors are those of staffing, field services and quality assurance and standards.  

Already, the positions of the field services quality assurance and standards divisions have been competitively filled and officers appointed substantively with effect from May 2018. 

Mary Rotich and Reuben Mugwuku were appointed directors of field services and quality assurance and standards respectively.

According to the changes, Rita Wahome, formerly the county director of Nyeri, has been appointed director in-charge of staffing in an acting capacity. 

“The commission will continue conducting interviews to fill vacant posts in line with the recommendations of the management study report of 2016 and the existing schemes of service for secretariat staff,” the report said.

The reforms were based on recommendations of a report of the directorate of public service management that carried out a survey in 2016 to inform the commission’s intended restructuring.

The survey was commissioned in 2015 after TSC realised the need for organisational restructuring to cope with its expanded mandate. 

The report recommended the strengthening of TSC’s core function of teacher management. 

The new restructuring programme comes at a time TSC is rolling out its delocalisation policy through which principals are posted to work in areas outside their home counties.

Also to be transferred are deputy headteachers in a move aimed at strengthening school management and improving national cohesion.

Conflict of interest

TSC CEO Nancy Macharia said delocalisation of the management of learning institutions is also intended to address cases of conflict of interest.

“Delocalisation will eventually be cascaded to deputy heads and other senior teachers,” said Ms Macharia.

She said the number of years heads of institutions should serve in one station has been fixed at nine. 

“We have put in place a policy to ensure that heads do not overstay in a particular institution. We have already started implementing this policy in some schools as changes in headship become necessary,” she said recently.

The commission has also announced that school heads, their deputies and senior teachers would be recruited only on a competitive basis to uphold merit in appointment to public office.

According to the new TSC restructuring move, the directorate of field services will drive performance contracting and teacher performance appraisal and development.

The new reforms also target proper supervision of curriculum implementation by school heads.

Recently, Macharia said teachers are now more focused and take more time to prepare for their work. 

“On schemes of work, they are spending more time planning for lessons and updating their teaching aids. There is more documentation on learners’ progress and it is also evident that more and more teachers are planning for make-up classes, sometimes even before going out of school for official assignments,” she said.

The report shows as a result of performance contracting and teacher appraisal programme, heads of institutions have stepped up supervision by ensuring proper maintenance of appraisal records, curriculum audit reports, teacher class attendance registers and submission of staffing returns.