The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has urged school heads to listen more to teachers and help them find a solution to their problems, where possible, instead of always rushing to push for their interdiction.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of the Migori County Conference of the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) in Kisumu, Nyanza Regional TSC Director Japhat Kariuki urged the principals to go slow on the framing of charges for interdictions against teachers who need help.
“We have been making a mistake because we have kept on blaming the teacher, especially those who drink (alcohol and other substances). Everybody says that they have become drunkards and are unable to teach. As the Principal, get to know the problem of the teacher instead of rushing to push for their interdiction,” said Kariuki.
He submitted that teachers too are experiencing social challenges such as familial conflicts and disagreements that often take a huge toll on them, hence jeopardising their performance in school.
When a marriage is broken, for example, involved teachers usually do not remain the same, he pointed out. Such teachers need psycho-social support, thus pushing for their interdiction only worsens the situation and is an inhumane endeavor.
“When teachers are in problems, instead of being condemned, they should be assisted to come back to life,” he submitted.
According to the TSC Legal Officer Cavin Anyuor, it is the school heads that interdicts teachers.
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“It is not the TSC that interdicts teachers. It is you (Principals) who frame the issues and take them to the board of management,” observed Anyuor.
I’m the same breath, Anyuor urged the heads to ensure that only serious issues are used as grounds for interdiction.
“As you exercise this power let us be fair and procedural and let us not debate trivial issues,” said Anyuor, while giving an example of a head teacher who recently denied a Junior School teacher a plastic chair on grounds that the teacher needed to go sit under a tree.
As a sustainable approach to teacher management, the TSC Regional director explained that school heads need to equip themselves with knowledge on Teacher Induction Mentorship and Coaching (TIMEC).
“The overall objective of TIMEC is to institutionalize teacher support initiatives, including induction, mentorship and coaching in the teaching service. TIMEC is informed by the need to engage in both preventive and corrective approaches in the management of a teacher’s professional conduct and performance,” said Kariuki.
The regional chief noted that many principals have the tendency of failing to properly induct new teachers, hence many of them end up disoriented.
“When a new teacher comes, many of you usually invite the deputy to take them around with false excuses that you are busy and heading out to a meeting. Once you leave the school’s gate, the deputy also hands over the new teacher to the head of department… Eventually they go to the staffroom, learn things naturally and end up disoriented,” observed Kariuki.
He emphasized that school heads have an obligation to familiarize the inductee with professional obligations, relevant laws and regulations, and processes and procedures in the teaching profession.
Inductions ensure that teachers develop emotional intelligence, build a sustainable institutional culture, and improve interpersonal relationship and skills, among other issues.
Kariuki wittily explained that teachers whose students sleep in class should be mentored by someone more experienced on best practices.
“Such a teacher should be mentored on best class management practices. How do you enter a class and continue to teach as if nothing bad is happening when nearly all students are asleep?” posed Kariuki.
School heads and other senior teachers in the school should also mentor juniors on how to balance between work and social life, as many are increasingly experiencing familial problems, he added.
Further, Kariuki challenged the principals to institutionalize coaching to ensure that skills are perfected for the attainment of quality outcomes.
“Teachers who have been teaching but have never scored an A should be coached to be able to add value to their professional work,” he said.
He went on by saying that TIMEC is more to do with understanding human behavior, telling people exactly what to do and creating a space for them to perfect their skills.
BY Depot Ochieng’
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PHOTOS: Migori County Senior School principals during their KESSHA conference in Kisumu last week.
