The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Chairperson Dr. Jamleck Muturi John has revealed that the Commission will spend Ksh1.3 billion to train teachers on the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in the 2023/2024 Financial Year (FY).
The Commission was allocated a total of Kshs323.7 billion in the current Financial Year which was an increase of Ksh24 billion compared to the previous year; with Dr. Muturi stating that it has trained 289,000 teachers so far on CBC implementation.
Dr. Muturi, who was addressing secondary school Principals at the 46th annual Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) Conference, also revealed that TSC is set to retool school administrators on their roles.
The Commission will also spend Kshs1 billion on promotion of teachers, adding to the 8,000 teachers who have been promoted through Common Cadre and 10,000 through competitive processes; and Ksh4.68 billion will be used to recruit 20,000 teacher interns.
“The Commission is grateful to the government for its support in the execution of our mandate. Honorable CS, please take our highest regards and gratitude to His Excellency Dr. William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya for his commitment in supporting the teaching fraternity,” said Dr. Muturi.
The TSC chair highlighted key achievements the Commission had made under the current government which include; recruitment of 30,550 teachers to teach in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) where 9,000 were employed on Permanent and Pensionable Terms and 21,550 are on Internship terms and an additional deployment of 8,367 primary school teachers to teach in JSS totaling to 38,917 teachers in JSS.
Dr. Muturi added that the Commission has trained 163,938 teachers on the implementation of remote learning as an alternative mode of curriculum delivery, which was launched last year January where teachers from well-staffed schools with better facilities virtually share their classes with other institutions.
Other TSC achievements he mentioned include automation of key teacher processes including; recruitment, leaves, transfers, the TPAD system, devolution of services up to the lowest administrative level, elaborate engagement with stakeholders and prompt hearing of discipline cases to ensure expeditious disposal of cases where they are currently dealing with 2,022 cases.
On chronic alcoholism, drug and substance abuse among teachers, Dr. Muturi stated that they will be treated for three months at TSC’s expense stating that the Commission has established a fully equipped wellness centre with qualified medical staff to help rehabilitate teachers who turn to drugs due to stress at work.
“Principals work under very challenging environments. We treat alcoholism and drug and substance abuse as a disease. We will give paid leave for such teachers and book them in a rehabilitation centre for three months,” he said.
He reiterated that the Commission will fully support Principals as they discharge their duties, calling upon them to be mentors, role models, mediators and coaches to the students and young teachers as they discharge their duties.
“You must; exhibit professionalism as well as ensure prudent management of resources which include funds, physical resources, human resources and students; enhance income generating activities in the school; enhance environmental conservation and adopt school policies and programmes which are geared towards improvement of the learning environment,” said Dr. Muturi.
By Roy Hezron
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