Court suspends Amina’s ‘D’ teachers training requirement

The labour court yesterday stopped Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed from lowering teacher training college entrance grades.

The CS had gazetted rules that required Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education entry grades for diploma teacher training courses lowered from C+ to C-, and for certificates from C to D.

But the Employment and Labour Relations Court halted the implementation of the college entry grade until a petition filed by Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) is heard.

Justice Byrum Ongaya found that there are two sets of regulations governing teachers’ training, creating unclear ground on which regulations are to be relied on.

According to the judge, both the Teachers Service Commission Code of Regulations for Teachers (amendment) 2016 and the Kenya National Framework Regulations 2018 have set different benchmarks on minimum qualifications for teacher training colleges.

He ordered that the Education CS convenes a stakeholders’ meeting urgently to harmonise the two regulations.

Welcoming the ruling, Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori said the court process would guarantee a just process of setting a national qualifications framework.

“The role of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should not be watered down by mere policy shifts,” said Mr Misori.

“There is need to bring sobriety to this issue because already guidelines had been put in place by TSC on entry requirements and they have not been changed,” he said.

He said that attempts to water down entry grade for teachers would weaken the profession.

“Teachers must be above learners in terms of engagements. Lower grades will deprive sector of right staff and make learners question qualifications of their teachers,” said Misori.

The court order comes weeks after Attorney General Kihara Kariuki issued a legal opinion contrary to Amina’s gazette notice.

In his legal advice, Kihara said only the TSC, not the Education CS, was mandated to prescribe college entry qualifications