By James Wakahiu
The high court petition by Mr. Joseph Karanja, an education consultant, to stop the roll out of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programme has been ruled out after Justice David Nderitu of the Employment and Labour Court declined to stop the roll out of the programme.
Karanja had sought orders to halt the roll out of the programme insisting that teachers and other education stakeholders were not engaged in the development of the content of the modules as provided for under Article 232 of the Constitution.
The judge ruled that due to the weight of the orders sought and its effects, Karanja ought to serve the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and other respondents in the case a hearing.
His ruling implies that the TPD programme, which was rolled out by TSC on September 22, 2021 can take place. Kenyatta University, Mount Kenya University (MKU), Riara University and Kenya Education Management Institute are now free to admit teachers for the compulsory retraining.
The programmes will see tutors, both in primary and secondary schools, undergo professional in service training in institutions of higher learning before their teaching licenses are renewed every five years.
The modules are aimed at boosting tutors’ skills. Completion of a set of modules will also determine the promotion chances of a teacher as stipulated in Regulation 48 of the TSC Code of Regulations 2015.
The training has 6 modules which will be completed in 30 years. The teachers will be required to pay Shs 6,000 annually during the retraining. The programme will cover 222,000 primary school teachers, 90,000 secondary school teachers, 22,224 instructional leaders in primary schools and 8,000 instructional leaders in secondary schools.
Speaking during the roll out of the programme, TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said the plan is to professionalise the teaching fraternity to match other careers.
According to TSC, the four institutions have been contracted on an annual agreement, with an option for extension. The roles of these service providers include facilitating the training of the TPD programme based on the prescribed modules, carrying out assessment on teachers, issuing completion certificates and maintaining data related to the TPD project.
MKU Vice Chancellor Prof Deogratius Jaganyi, praised TSC for the professional engagement with stakeholders in the process of advertising for the bid to offer TPD, the smooth evaluation process as well as the smooth implementation stage.
Prof Jaganyi added that MKU has adequate infrastructural network, modern reliable technology and human resource capacity for the successful implementation of TPD.
“We have spread our network countrywide through a formidable physical presence in campuses, Open, Distance, and Electronic Learning (ODEL) centres, marketing centres and strategic partnerships with key stake holders. All these will contribute directly towards the effective implementation of the TPD in all the 290 sub-counties in Kenya,” he said.
Quoting Nobel Prize Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, the VC said a teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself.
“A lamp can never light another lamp unless it continues to burn its own flame,” Tagore said in 1994.
Prof Jaganyi said the training will provide opportunities for teachers to explore new roles, develop new instructional and leadership techniques, refine their practice and broaden their outlook as educators and as individuals.
“When we have quality teachers in schools, the roll-out of CBC will be efficient. Professional teachers will improve learning outcomes in Kenyan schools and ultimately lead to the achievement of SDGs 2030, Kenya Vision 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063,” he added.
