Teachers to pay for training in TSC deal with varsities

What you need to know:

  • The scheme will start despite protests from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), which had demanded more consultation on the issue and even challenged it in court.

  • The training will be undertaken by Kenyatta University, Mount Kenya University, Riara University and the Kenya Education Management Institute.

Each teacher will be required to pay Sh6,000 per year for professional development training that is set to start in April after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) signed a deal with four higher learning institutions to provide the training.

The 318,000 teachers employed by the commission as well as 154,000 teachers employed by private schools will have to undergo the development training six times in their career.

However, the plan is not clear on the fate of 300,000 teachers who are registered but yet to be employed by the TSC.

The scheme will start despite protests from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), which had demanded more consultation on the issue and even challenged it in court.

The training will be undertaken by Kenyatta University, Mount Kenya University, Riara University and the Kenya Education Management Institute.

The TSC has started training lecturers who are expected to take charge of the programme in these institutions.

This means that 318,000 teachers will have to part with Sh1.9 billion per year, while 154,000 in private schools will cough up Sh924 million, making a total of Sh2.8 billion, which will be paid to training institutions.

Those in the service will be trained after every five years and every level of the training will take five years and a teacher will move from one level to the next until the sixth.

A teacher beginning the training will be required to complete seven sections of module one to be recertified.

The contract to offer training will be for two years.

According to the TSC, the Sh6,000 fee is inclusive of all the training sessions, assessment, monitoring and evaluation as well as all other costs incurred.

“The institutions will be wholly responsible for the collection of the fee directly from teachers and the commission will not be accountable for the non-payment of fees by any of the teachers or instructional leaders,” reads the agreement.

A teacher will take a minimum of 42.5 hours of professional development, which will consist of five days of face-to-face sessions per year and two online sessions.

All the sessions will be carried out during the school holidays while all face-to-face sessions will be undertaken at the 290 sub-county training centres across the country.

The online sessions will be undertaken through the virtual learning management system.

The training institutions will carry out psychometric tests to identify the unique competency gaps that each teacher requires.

“This will be undertaken through the university online assessment centres,” reads the agreement.

The institutions will use a psychometric assessment, including integrity, emotional intelligence, leadership and managerial competency tests.

Transcripts will be issued at the end of each chapter and a certificate issued upon completion of a module.

Any teacher who fails to go for the short courses will be deemed to have violated the TSC Code of Regulations.

According to TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia, the teacher development programme will address gaps identified in appraisals, facilitate career progression and ensure professional compliance.

Kenya Private Schools Association chief executive Peter Ndoro said they are ready for the training, which he said would benefit teachers.

According to the TSC, the training will deepen teachers’ knowledge in subject specialisation.