The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is planning to spend Ksh134.5 billion in the next five years to implement its recently launched 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, with the lion’s share of the budget allocated to recruit teachers on permanent and pensionable, and internship terms.
TSC has identified three main Strategic Focus Areas (SFAs) of quality teaching service and curriculum implementation, service delivery re-engineering and innovations, and institutional capacity and corporate governance; which it says has been aligned with its mandate, vision, mission, and core values and incorporated the lessons, the emerging strategies issues and feedback from stakeholders.
According to the Commission, for the successful implementation of the Plan over the five years, it will require an additional budget of Ksh134, 493,190,000 where 117.02 Billion will be directed to implement the quality teaching service and curriculum implementation spread across the 5 years – Ksh23.34 billion, Ksh23.66 billion, Ksh 23.33 billion, Ksh23.37 billion and Ksh23.34 billion.
A huge chunk of the allocation in this SFA will go to teacher recruitment where the Commission intends to curb teacher shortage in basic public learning institutions by 100 per cent from June this year with a target recruitment of 111,870 teachers on permanent and pensionable terms and 100,000 intern teachers by Financial Year (FY) 2027/2028.
TSC plans to recruit 22,374 teachers every FY starting in with the current FY 2023/2024 on permanent and pensionable terms and 20,000 intern teachers every FY, as it projects to use Ksh71.4 billion in the next five years to recruit and equitably distribute additional teachers.
This will be implemented under its Staffing Directorate which has been allocated a budget of Ksh1.4 billion. Its Field Officers will be sensitized for two years starting FY 2024/2025 to FY 2025/2026 with publication of teachers staffing norms expected to be complete by the end of this FY.
In achieving its strategic objective of strengthening teacher competencies and promoting positive conduct, TSC plans to spend Ksh225 million to develop and roll out two additional modules for in-service programmes (TPD), a responsibility that will be implemented through its Directorate of Quality Assurance and Standards.
“The Commission will put in place a robust mechanism to support teachers to attain the desired teaching standards as stipulated in the Kenya Professional Teaching Standards (KePTS),” reads the Strategic Plan in part.
The first module will be developed during the second year of the Strategic Plan which falls under FY 2024/2025 while the second module will be ready in its fifth year – FY 2027/2028.
At the same time, the newly created Directorate of Operations under Director Gabriel Mathenge has been allocated Ksh31.5 million to implement key activities placed under the docket spread across the next five years.
Out of the budget, Ksh20 million will be used to ensure the Commission achieves ISO certification; Ksh3 million to establish partnerships and linkages with national and international organizations on improving the teaching service; Ksh7.5 million to undertake Annual Board Self Performance Evaluation, and Ksh1 million to identify and undertake Environmental Social Governance (ESG) initiatives.
By Education News reporter
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