The Teachers Service Commission, TSC, has responded to P1 teachers regarding the promotion and deployment of teachers who have acquired higher academic certificates.
According to Dr. Nancy Macharia’s response, she follows a petition tabled in the National Assembly by Hon Wilson Sossion who is also a nominated MP and a former KNUT secretary-general in early February.
Sossion’s petition followed Kenya National Teachers Pressure Group (KNTPG) members Martha Omollo, Eva Muchemi, and Salvin Munene who wanted TSC to recognize by promoting teachers with higher academic papers.
They wanted TSC to allow teachers who scored KCSE mean grade C plain or below and acquired Diploma, post-graduate Diploma,s and Degrees from various accredited learning institutions to be promoted and deployed without restrictions.
The lawmakers had argued that TSC cannot trash qualifications that universities and colleges approved leading to the teachers acquiring the higher academic papers.
Dr. Nancy Macharia has said it will not be possible to promote the huge number of teachers who have upgraded their certificates.
She stated that the increase in the number of teachers attaining higher qualifications made the policy to promote teachers automatically unsustainably hence TSC stopped automotive promotions on 19th January 2014.
According to data from the Commission, there were about 218,077 teachers in public primary schools as of 2020. 21,632 teachers had diploma qualifications, while 17,930 teachers had Bachelor’s degrees.
There were about 113,155 teachers in the post-primary institutions as of 2020. 1,725 teachers had master’s and doctoral degrees. Previously, primary school teachers who acquired higher qualifications from a recognized institution were automatically promoted to job groups J and K respectively.
Macharia said that number of teachers has since outnumbered the allocated funds for promotions. In 2016, the entire public service, on the advice of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, SRC, and in keeping with international best practices, transited from a qualifications-based remuneration framework to a job worth concept.
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