TPD Roll-Out Finally Takes Effect Amid Petition to Have it Stopped
KEY POINTS
The compulsory training is meant to be carried out at four major institutions, Kenyatta University, Mount Kenya University, Riara University, and Kenya Education Management Institute, which are now open and ready to admit teachers.
Justice David Nderitu of the Employment and Labour Court yesterday declined the petition to stop the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) Program, filed to the high court by an education consultant, Mr. Joseph Karanja.
According to Karanja, teachers and other stakeholders were not engaged in the development of the content of the module as provided for under Article 232 of the Kenyan constitution.
The judge ruled that due to the weight of the orders sought and its effects, Mr. Karanja ought to serve the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and other respondents in the case of a hearing.
According to Justice Nderitu’s ruling, the TPD program that was rolled out by TSC on 22nd September 2021 will now take effect as planned
The compulsory training is meant to be carried out at four major institutions, Kenyatta University, Mount Kenya University, Riara University, and Kenya Education Management Institute, which are now open and ready to admit teachers.
The program aims to boost the skills of the tutors in both primary and secondary schools by undergoing in-service training in the mentioned institutions before their teaching licenses are renewed every five years.
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Completion of a set of the module will determine the promotion chances of a teacher as stipulated in Regulation 48 of the TSC Code of Regulations 2015.
The teachers will be required to pay Sh. 6000 annually during the training that has 6 modules set to be completed in 30 years.
The program will cover 22,2000 primary school teachers, 90,000 secondary school teachers, 22,224 instructional leaders in primary schools, and 8,000 instructional leaders in secondary schools.
TSC Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia said that the program plans to professionalize the teaching fraternity to match other careers.
According to TSC, the four institutions have been contracted on an annual agreement, though they can extend, and have a role of facilitating the training of the program based on prescribed modules, carrying out teachers’ assessment, issuing completion certificates, and maintaining data related to the TDP project.
Speaking during the rollout of the program, MKU Vice-Chancellor Prof Deogratius Jaganyi said that MKU has an adequate infrastructure network, modern reliable technology, and human resource capacity for a successful implementation of the program.
He further acknowledged the efforts of the TSC of professionally engaging with stakeholders in the process of advertising for the bid to offer TPD, the smooth evaluation as well as the smooth implementation stage.
“We have spread our network countrywide through a formidable physical presence in campuses, open, distance and electronic learning (ODEL) Centers, and strategic partnerships with key stakeholders. All these will contribute to the effective implementation of the program in all the 290 sub-counties in Kenya,” said Jaganyi.
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Jaganyi went ahead to note that the training will enable the country to have quality teachers who will enable the efficiency of the CBC rollout. He said that professional teachers will improve learning outcomes in Kenyan schools and ultimately lead to the achievement of the SDGs 2030, Kenya Vision 2030, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
