Tsc promotion: All teachers will now need two certificates to teach in primary and secondary schools.

They will be required to undertake teacher development courses after the pre-service (college) training, which will earn them a second certificate from the Teachers Service Commission.

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The courses will be undertaken in modules, and will be mandatory.

The courses, dubbed Teacher Development Programme, will also be a guiding pillar in hiring and demotions. Teachers will pay for the programmes because currently, the main partners in the development of the programme are British council and UNICEF.
The training will be conducted after every five years.

Speaking at Crowne Plaza, Nairobi, yesterday, TSC chairperson Nancy Macharia said the programme intends to address performance gaps identified in performance appraisals.

“This will be the only way teachers will be allowed to practice in any school, and will be used as a pillar to guide promotions and demotions of teachers. It will be used to upgrade staff to end stagnation of members in the teaching profession,” Macharia said.

However, the new programme will be a subject of controversy as the teachers’ unions protested lack of consultation before roll out.

“We have not seen the document but just like the Teachers Performance and Appraisal Development, TSC has developed another animal to gauge teachers without the unions involvement. It is unacceptable and we will not support it,” embattled Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion said.

Kuppet deputy secretary general Moses Nturima said they are reviewing the document as they had not been consulted.
“TPAD together with TPD are made to bring accountability in the teaching profession. However, TSC did not involve teachers in development of the document and we vow to critic it if it does not fit teachers’ needs,” Nturima said.

TSC chairperson Lydia Nzomo said the commission is ready to accommodate views of other players and make changes if necessary.
“Pre-service training is not enough to prepare teachers for challenges that await them in class such as change in children psychology,” Nzomo said.

“If a teacher does not undertake the TPD, he or she will be subjected to disciplinary action as prescribed by the commission code of conduct,” Nzomo said on Tsc promotion. Currently, the continuous assessment programmes in place are not guided by existing policies and are not mandatory.