By Roy Hezron
A new Teachers Service Commission (TSC) policy will grant addicted teachers a 90-day leave to help them overcome their vices and return to normal life.
Though there is a long process before that happens, the 90-day leave to go through the programme is seen as an attempt to humanize the relationship between teachers and their employer, which has always been regarded punitive and tyrannical.
The new policy targets substance-dependent teachers who get admitted to rehabilitation facilities.
According to TSC, the process begins at the school level where the immediate supervisor identifies a teacher who has an alcohol or drug-related problem and refers them to the sub-county or county director, who in turn recommends the teacher to the Wellness section at the TSC headquarters.
The Wellness Officer will ask for a next of kin to help in the assessment of the case, before referring the victim to a rehabilitation or psychiatric facility.
If a teacher is admitted to any of the centres, they should apply for sick leave to enable them go through the 90-day programme.
The teacher then takes the letter, accompanied with an admission letter from the facility to TSC (Wellness Section), to allow TSC write to the respective county director asking them to grant the sick leave.
“Naturally, when a teacher is discharged after the 90 days, they should report back to the Wellness section with a discharge summary and a certificate from the facility for a recommendation to be posted to a school,” stated TSC in its monthly Mwalimu News newsletter.
The Commission urged Heads of institutions, other teachers and spouses to help in offering psychosocial support to the affected teachers.
“Alcohol abuse is associated with social, economic, psychological and physical challenges on the individual, family and the community. We recognize that some of our teachers are or have fallen victims to alcoholism leading to, among other issues, absence from work,” said TSC.
The Commission admitted that alcoholism among teachers is a chronic health problem that needs intervention by counselors, colleagues and close family members, necessitating systems to be put in place to help the victims.
However, teachers who have drug and alcohol problems can be granted the sick leave only twice during their employment term. This means that those who do not reform stand a great risk of interdiction and deregistration from the teachers’ roll. The new policy will be reviewed after two years to prevent that happening.
TSC periodically gazettes the names of teachers who are deregistered for various offences after going through a disciplinary process at the Commission.
Other reasons for deregistration include death, fraudulent registration, conviction on sexual offences or an offence against a learner, criminal offence conviction or physical or mental illness, which renders one incapable of performing the duties of a teacher.
Most recently, the Commission issued a number of guidelines meant to tame chronic alcoholism among teachers and its employees in its new policy titled Alcohol and Drug Abuse (ADA) Prevention Workplace Policy for Employees of January 2022.
Alcoholism has been blamed for absenteeism, especially among male teachers, with many having lost their jobs over the years. Last year alone, the Commission dismissed close to 100 teachers on account of alcoholism.
However, the Commission has never provided data on affected teachers, though by coming up with a policy meant to mitigate is indicative of the extent of the problem.
According to TSC Chairperson Dr. Jamleck Muturi John, the Commission found it necessary to put in place a policy to guide its employees on ADA issues.
He says the policy addresses the psychosocial challenges that affect employees by taking cognizance of the key alcohol and drug abuse issues that may affect them and thus hamper service delivery.
“It provides a framework for the implementation structures and programmes that will form a road map in providing alcohol and drug abuse services to all the Commission employees,” noted Dr. Muturi in the policy document.
Dr. Muturi maintains that the implementation of the policy will enable the Commission to create awareness and manage the harmful effects of alcohol and drugs to maintain a drug-free, healthy and productive workforce.
Policy intervention measures
According to the policy, the Commission’s employees with alcohol and drug addiction and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) shall be subjected to the same treatment as employees suffering from other health ailments.
“Employees with ADA-related problems shall not be discriminated against and shall receive services and benefits as stipulated in the Employment contract,” reads the policy in part.
Among the measures the policy has adopted in order curb chronic alcoholism among its employees include prohibiting any form of advertisement that promotes the consumption of alcohol and drugs and also prohibiting manufacturing, distribution, dispensing, possession, consumption and sale of alcohol and drugs at the workplace or while on official assignments.
The policy has also prohibited receipt of gifts and tokens in the form of alcohol and drugs or giving rewards and tokens or materials that in any way may trigger alcohol and drug craving at the workplace, for example presentation of transactions related to alcohol and illegal drugs as part of expense account reimbursement.
The policy has also empowered the Wellness Section of the Commission to identify relevant partners for purposes of collaborations and establishment of appropriate referral systems, and further mandates the Commission to ensure that ADA Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials are available and displayed at the workplace, including schools.
Further, the policy empowers the Wellness Section to facilitate the formation of psycho-social support networks, as well as advises employees with ADA issues to join and benefit from the After-Care Programmes to prevent relapses.
At the same time it coordinates the treatment and management modalities for re-integration of SUD employees through referral to identified treatment facilities and aftercare programmes.
Policy guidelines at work place
The TSC ADA Policy requires that managers, supervisors and Heads of institutions are trained on alcohol and drug abuse to enable them detect employees with SUD and facilitate intervention measures.
The policy also requires that alcohol and drug abuse education should form part of the induction programme for newly recruited employees, as it further requires the Commission to grant sick leave to all employees with ADA challenges as stipulated in the Code of Regulation for Teachers (CORT) and Human Resource Policy and Procedures manuals.
Any additional sick leave days shall be granted on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of the Commission.
TSC has tasked Heads of schools with the duty of helping teachers with drug and alcohol problems. It also has warned other teachers against condemning and profiling their colleagues or covering for them when absent by attending their lessons or giving them money for drinks.
In addition, the Commission has advised teachers to introduce the affected teachers to recovering addicts groups such as the Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) fellowship.
