TSC backtracks on vetting plan

The Teachers Service Commission has backed down on a plan to vet teachers’ salaries, assets and other wealth, saying it was misunderstood.

Addressing more than 7,000 secondary school principals at Wild Waters in Mombasa on Thursday, the commission’s chief executive officer Nancy Macharia said the impression created was wrong.

She said there was no provision for such vetting in the code of conduct and ethics for teachers or in any other policy document.

“There has been a lively and robust debate arising from the Code of Conduct and Ethics we launched on Monday. The debate is largely positive. It confirms the central role of teachers in society,” she said. “I want to state here and now that there is no such provision in the two codes or in any policy in place.”

The correct position, she explained, was that like all the other public officers, teachers would continue declaring their income, assets and liabilities every two years and on leaving the service.

She said this was nothing new and had been the practice since the Public Officer Ethics Act (POEA) was passed in 2004.

“Let me repeat. There is no vetting of teachers and principals with regard to their income, wealth and assets,” she said.

However, the principals did not get an opportunity to ask Ms Macharia and commission chairperson Lydia Nzomo questions on the code of conduct and code of regulations.

The two senior TSC officials were addressing principals during a session on rebranding the teaching profession.

A number of principals who presented written questions were told the answers would be posted on the TSC websites and Facebook pages.

Ms Macharia, however, urged them to emphasise to all teaching staff the need to read, understand and abide by the provisions of the two codes.

She said the commission had partnered with the Department for International Development and the British Council to provide each public learning institution with two copies of the code of conduct and ethics and code of regulations.

“In the next two weeks, I will release a circular with details of the implementation of the Code of Regulations for Teachers and Code of Conduct and Ethics. The circular will contain details on how to access copies of the codes,” she saidThe Teachers Service Commission has backed down on a plan to vet teachers’ salaries, assets and other wealth, saying it was misunderstood.
Addressing more than 7,000 secondary school principals at Wild Waters Centre in Mombasa yesterday, the commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms Nancy Macharia, said the impression created was wrong. 
She said there was no provision for such vetting in the teachers’ Code of Conduct and Ethics or any other policy document.
“There has been a lively and robust debate arising from the Code of Conduct and Ethics we launched on Monday. The debate is largely positive. It confirms the central role of teachers in society,” she said.
“I want to state here and now that there is no such provision in the two codes or in any policy in place.”
The correct position, she explained, was that like all the other public officers, teachers would continue declaring their income, assets and liabilities every two years and on leaving the service.
She said this was nothing new and had been the practice since the Public Officer Ethics Act (POEA) was passed in 2004.
“Let me repeat. There is no vetting of teachers and principals with regard to their income, wealth and assets,” she said.
However, the principals did not get an opportunity to ask Ms Macharia and commission chairperson Lydia Nzomo questions on the code of conduct and code of regulations.
The two senior TSC officials were addressing principals during a session on rebranding the teaching profession.
A number of principals who presented written questions were told the answers would be posted on the TSC websites and Facebook pages.
Ms Macharia, however, urged them to emphasise to all teaching staff the need to read, understand and abide by the provisions of the two codes.
She said the commission had partnered with the Department for International Development (DFID) and the British Council to provide each public learning institution with two copies of the code of conduct and ethics and code of regulations.
“In the next two weeks, I will release a circular with details of the implementation of the Code of Regulations for Teachers and Code of Conduct and Ethics. The circular will contain details on how to access copies of the codes,” she added..