By Fredrick Odiero
Private schools in the country through the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) have made an impassioned appeal to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to allow them hire tutors with more ease by relaxing rules on the employment of teachers.
The KPSA National Chairman Charles Ochome said TSC must remain flexible to allow private schools to employ some teachers based on talent.
Ochome disclosed that TSC has directed them that they must strictly employ registered TSC teachers to take pupils through the Competency Based Curriculum.
“TSC should leave tendencies that we see are becoming difficult to implement,” he lamented.
He said they are ready to bring in tutors who can train pupils in different talents, not necessarily a trained and registered as a teacher.
According to the TSC, it is a requirement that only persons registered as teachers in accordance with the TSC Act (2012) should be engaged in teaching.
The TSC Act (2012) Section 23 (2) also prohibits any person from engaging in teaching
service unless one is registered as a teacher. The TSC Code of Regulations for Teachers (2015) Part III further provides Conditions and Procedure for Registration of Teachers.
To be registered, a prospective teacher is required to produce a certificate of good conduct, relevant academic and professional certificates from recognized institutions, a copy of an Identity Card or valid passport, a passport size photo, a KRA PIN certificate, a duly filled Medical GP 69 Form and a receipt of payment of Ksh.1,055 to the TSC for processing the registration.
But speaking to the press recently in Kisumu, Ochome however said there was no need to put roadblocks for talented people in the country to get employment opportunities.
“We have talented people like coaches who can teach our children football, music, these are things which do not require one to go to a teachers training college to attain,” he said.
He said that TSC should allow them to scout for talent and not to confine schools to only trained and registered teachers, saying that CBC is a new concept which should be molded to success and not putting road blocks on its implementations.
“A lot of investments, both in terms of government and private sector have been put into this curriculum and it will be unfortunate for us to waste those resources,” he said.
He lauded Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha for easing up the guidelines of registrations of schools that are supposed to offer junior secondary.
Ochome challenged his members to take seriously the idea of putting up facilities to be able to pick up students next year.
“I think that is the best thing the CS has ever done to us in the private sector and we applaud him,” he said.
According to KEPSA, there are more than 1,932 private secondary and 8,000 private primary schools in the country.
