LSK President Nelson Havi to challenge roll out of teacher refresher courses by TSC

LSK President Nelson Havi to challenge Nancy Macharia-led TSC's teacher refresher courses. [File, Standard]

President of the Law Society of Kenya Nelson Havi seeks to challenge the roll out refresher courses for the 340,000 tutors across the country, as is required by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in a fresh deal.

This comes in the backdrop of the commission holding meetings with teachers’ unions and associations to prepare for the new courses introduced four years ago, but whose implementation stalled as a result of opposition by the unions.

On Sunday, September 26 morning, Havi took to his official Twitter platform to express his interest in challenging the Teacher Professional Development Programme, terming it as ‘oppressive’.

“I have changed my mind. I will act for teachers to challenge the oppressive Teacher Professional Development Programme imposed by the TSC,” his tweet read in part.

Despite his efforts, political experts who spoke to The Standard anonymously say apart from representing the teachers, Havi’s efforts could also be a way of seeking relevance as he eyes the Westlands Constituency seat in the upcoming General Election.

The LSK president has been poking holes in the education sector. Recently, he filed a petition in court challenging the implementation of the Competence-Based Curriculum which was introduced five years ago.

After reflecting on what would have been good for my late father and my mother, both of whom were great teachers, I have changed my mind. I will act for teachers to challenge the oppressive Teacher Professional Development Programme imposed by the TSC. Let us get started. ^DoS — Nelson Havi (@NelsonHavi) September 26, 2021

“I have heard your cries parents, guardians and teachers. The petition challenging CBC will be filed in court next week. The education system in Kenya should not be an expensive, inefficient and ineffective experiment with our children and their future as is our leadership,” Havi said on Wednesday, September 8.

The teachers training programmes were introduced in 2018 to replace the schemes of service, which guided promotions, but was stalled after the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) moved to court to block the same.

However, the stalemate was resolved under the new five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement signed in July 2021. This means that teachers will be required to pay Sh6,000 each year for five years to complete the course.